Unhealthy Obsession
by theyaremagicallydelicious
Summary: DH 6th Year, PreHBP After one lustfilled evening spent between the two boys, both must come to terms with their feelings and each other. But romance isn't the only thing going on in Harry's life. Voldemort is after him and this time he might succeed...
1. Unhealthy Obsession

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter!

AN: This is my first attempt at D/H. I hope I did the pair justice. Please review!

Unhealthy Obsession

            Draco Malfoy had never seen Harry Potter wandering around in this part of the castle, with the exception of Potions classes. The dungeons were far too dark and damp for the noble Gryffindors to ever feel the need to be there. But Potter was here, at midnight nonetheless. 

            Draco had watched him leave Snape's office and was now walking ten paces behind him. He narrowed his eyes as he watched the boy stroll down the hall as if he owned the place. Potter had always been too arrogant for his own good, ever since the first day on the train when he had thought himself too good to be friends with a Malfoy. 

            Well Draco had made up for that in the last sixth years. He had been Potter's shadow, always making sure he knew where his enemy stood and making Potter's life miserable, just for the fun of it. And maybe partly for revenge. 

            Draco decided he no longer wanted to be silent and as the boy was about to round a corner, Draco shouted, "Hey, Potter! Where are the Weasel and the Mudblood? Did you give your chaperones the night off?"

            Potter ignored him and continued to walk. Draco sneered. _No one ignored a Malfoy. "Hey Potter! I heard about your godfather. He snuffed it, eh? Bet you didn't feel so tough then."_

            Draco smirked, satisfied, as Harry stopped and then turned around slowly. "Shut your mouth, Malfoy," he said, enunciating every word. 

            This was what Draco enjoyed with Potter; the taunting, the jabs, the reactions. It was a game, and a fun one. Resisting the urge to break out in a genuine smile Draco stated, "Don't tell me what to do, Potter." 

            Potter opened his mouth to respond, but Draco never heard the words. A meow was heard and both boys looked down near their feet to see Mrs. Norris mewing jovially, as if she knew she was getting them in trouble and was only too happy to do it. 

            Draco knew Filch was only seconds away. He ducked into a narrow corridor, took a left turn, and then tapped three stones on the wall. He heard footsteps behind him as the wall opened to reveal the smallest of spaces, just big enough for one person to stand in. 

            Draco hurried into the space, hoping Filch had not seen him. However, it was not Filch, but Potter who appeared after Draco had heard the stones being tapped once again. "Go away, Potter," Draco hissed. "How did you know about this anyway?"

            "I didn't," he said coldly. "You showed me." With that, the other boy stepped inside, forcing Draco to budge up and stand pressed against the wall. Both boys were silent as they heard running and meowing outside the door. When the noises had passed, Potter breathed a sigh of relief, but did not dare open the door in case Filch was only one passage away.

            "Why did you follow me anyway?" Draco muttered. "You could have found your own hiding spot, Potter." 

            "No I couldn't have," Potter said, turning around so they were face-to-face. "I don't know anywhere to hide down here, but I figured you would." 

            Draco stared into the face he hated so much, uncomfortable aware of how close they were. He could feel the other boy's ragged breathing on his face, and their bodies were touching slightly. Draco swallowed a mouthful of air, beginning to feel the need to get out into an open space, away from Potter. 

            Suddenly, Potter raised his gaze from the ground to Draco's eyes. They stared at each other, not blinking. The emotion between them was almost tangible and Draco thought if he were to reach out his arm, he would be able to feel the hate that was emanating from them. 

            Draco felt as if Potter's cold, green eyes were piercing him through the chest and staring through him. It was an uncomfortable sort of feeling. Draco did the only thing he could do. "You know, Potter, you and your friends aren't so great." 

            Potter gave a derisive snort. "Yeah I kinda figured you didn't think so. And your thugs are so much better?"

            "At least I've got respect," Draco said. "You have two fans."

            Potter sighed and for a moment Draco thought he wasn't going to respond. "You know Malfoy, if you just took a second and looked at your-"

            He had stopped talking when Draco had forced his own lips on Potter's. Draco didn't know why he did it. He only knew that the heat between them was becoming unbearable and Potter had been about to insult him again, and Draco couldn't play with the game without feeling the passion that came with it.

            As soon as he started, Draco knew he wouldn't be able to stop. He kissed Potter roughly; not bothering to let the other boy come up for air and after a minute Potter began kissing back. Draco opened his mouth as they kissed and felt Potter's tongue enter his mouth, exploring. 

            Draco pressed his own tongue into Harry's mouth and a feeling shot through him, unlike any other kiss he had felt before. Finally, the unhealthy obsession he had had with Potter since the first day on the train to Hogwarts was being satisfied. 

            The space was so small the Draco had no problem getting close to Potter. He pushed the other boy up against the door and ran a hand through Potter's already messy hair. 

            As they kissed, Draco felt an incredible wanting for more. He tugged at the other boy's robes and was surprised to feel Potter immediately comply with his wishes. The robe fell to the floor to reveal Potter in a T-shirt and baggy pair of jeans. Draco gave a frustrated moan and suddenly wished that all the sensations he was feeling would go away for a second so he could remove Potter's shirt. 

            Potter seemed to get the message and fumbled to take his shirt off in a hurry. Draco took his own robes off, and then skillfully removed his dress shirt in one quick motion. 

            The two boys were kissing again as soon as the shirts were off. This time bare chest met with bare chest. Draco's heart was pounding so fast he was sure Potter must be able to hear it. He pressed Potter against the door harder and could feel the other boy's arousal beneath his own. 

            Draco kissed Potter down his neck, and over his chest, pausing only to pass his tongue over Potter's nipple. Potter groaned appreciatively and grinded his hips into Draco's.

            This time it was Draco's turn to groan. He gasped quietly and Harry began a trail of kisses all the way down to his navel. Draco suppressed a moan has Potter began massaging the crotch of his pants. 

            Draco pressed Harry so hard against the door; he was surprised it didn't burst open. He felt his own erection press against Potter's. Potter moaned so loud that Draco felt the need to shush him, lest someone should hear a disturbance coming from the wall. 

            Draco put a hand to Harry's zipper and fumbled clumsily for a minute before getting it down. He inserted a hand into Potter's jeans and felt the other boy's arousal. Draco moved his hand vigorously back and forth, but soon took his hand out of Potter's jeans so he could remove them. He pulled the jeans down quickly as Potter worked to undo Draco's zipper. 

            After another second, both boys stood only in their boxers. They kissed again and Harry pressed hard against Draco, almost making his knees buckle. Their erections met again and Draco groaned loudly, unable to force it back. 

            Harry kissed Draco's chest, trailing all the way down, but this time did not stop at his navel. Instead he pulled the other boy's boxers down only slightly and kissed right above his erection. 

            That was when Draco decided they were still wearing too much clothing. He ripped off Harry's boxers quickly as Harry did the same to him. They kissed passionately and Draco's hands quickly found themselves between Harry's legs. He rubbed and massaged as fast as he could, Harry moaning as quietly as possible while receiving such pleasure, until Draco found his hands slightly wet. 

            Harry let his breath slow for a second before taking over on Draco. Draco couldn't even begin to marvel at who was doing this to him. He could only concentrate on Harry's hand moving steadily back and forth on his erection. Draco gripped Harry's arm painfully as he reached climax.

            Both boys backed away from each other as much as they could in the tiny space. Draco was breathing heavily as he picked up his boxers, sneaking glances at Harry's sweaty body. 

            They dressed slowly. Neither could meet the other's eyes. Potter had his hand on the doorknob, ready to leave, when Draco said, "Wait." Harry paused. "What was that all about?"

            It was a moment before Potter answered. "I don't know. I thought you hated me. I thought I hated you." 

            "I do hate you, or at least I dislike you," Draco said truthfully, "but I'm also obsessed with you." 

            Harry nodded. "I dislike you too, but I'm suppose I'm also fascinated by you," he admitted. 

            With that, he left the space. Draco heard him jogging down the hallway and didn't leave himself until he heard the footsteps die away. Draco made his way back to the Slytherin Common Room. Perhaps his relationship with Potter would be a bit different from now on. 

AN: Please Review!


	2. From Hatred To Lust

AN: I've decided to turn this into a full-fledged story. I hope you enjoy this chapter! More on the way and thanks to all who reviewed the first part!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 2: From Hatred To Lust

            Harry Potter woke with a start. It wasn't dreams of Voldemort that plagued him, however. He was having wonderful dreams about Draco Malfoy and the time they had spent together the night before. He shuddered and got up to get a drink of water. He had ran as fast as he could from the small wall space last night and flew into the common room and up to the boys' dormitory ignoring Ron and Hermione's questions. 

            Harry had gone to Snape's office, wanting to know what was going on with the Order. Ron had assumed something had gone wrong when Harry came back looking obviously upset. Harry had brushed him away saying that Snape had been being a prat as usual. Ron had hesitated for a moment before accepting the explanation and then leaving Harry by himself.

            The rest of the night Harry had tried to get to sleep and get visions of Draco out of his head. It had all been in vain. Draco Malfoy haunted him, even in his sleep. And now Harry would have to go to the Great Hall for breakfast and face Draco and his peers. For once, he was wishing he was anywhere but Hogwarts. 

            Harry dressed quickly. Everyone else was already downstairs. He was running a bit late and hurried to the common room so he, Ron, and Hermione could go down to breakfast.

            Ron greeted him cheerfully, "Good morning, Harry." 

            Harry gave him a nervous grin and tried to push the events of the night before out of his head. 

            Hermione gave him a sideways glance as they headed out of the portrait hole.  "Are you alright, Harry? You seem kind of jumpy.'

            "Yep, I'm fine," he said a bit too quickly. 

            Hermione didn't seem to believe him, but she let it go. When they reached the Great Hall, Harry tried with all his might to avoid looking at the Slytherin table. He buttered his toast with extra care, filled his orange juice glass three times, and cut his eggs up into minute pieces. Still, he eventually found his gaze wondering to the table where Draco Malfoy sat.

            And then Harry spotted him. His appearance was as orderly as ever. Not one blonde hair was out of place and his tie was perfectly straight. In fact, the only thing that looked different about him was his eyes, or rather where they were looking. They were aimed right at Harry.

            Harry struggled to maintain their staring contest, knowing that he would be the first to look away. He dropped his gaze and returned to his food, but he didn't forget the feeling of those striking gray eyes looking at him hungrily. 

            Classes went by quickly for Harry. The only good thing was that he had none with the Slytherins that day. He still had to see Draco at lunch, however, but Harry thought he did a pretty good job of avoiding Draco's piercing gaze.

            Charms was Harry's last class of the day and it was with a relief that he exited the classroom, glad that this stressing day was almost over. Ron and Hermione had begun to lead the way back to Gryffindor when Harry stopped walking.

            "Er…I'm gong to go send an owl," Harry said in a rush. 

            Ron and Hermione looked at each other, puzzled. "To who?" Ron asked. 

            "Fred and George," Harry lied quickly. "They wanted me to owl them around Halloween. They said that they are going to have some new products to tell me about." 

            Ron shrugged and he and Hermione said hurried goodbyes before leaving him alone in the middle of the corridor. Harry sighed in relief. He didn't much feel like going back to the common room and trying to deal with the noise and people in Gryffindor Tower. Perhaps he would go to the Owlery and visit Hedwig. 

            Harry had just started on his way when someone grabbed him roughly from behind. He tried to scream, but the person had put a hand over his mouth. His attacker dragged him to an empty classroom and closed the door behind them. The person let him go. Harry turned around. It was Draco Malfoy. 

            "What the hell are you doing?" Harry whispered forcefully. He didn't want any stray people wandering in the corridors to hear them.

            Draco shrugged. "I only have a minute. I was thinking maybe we could do something tonight." He raised his eyebrows suggestively and Harry felt his face go hot. 

            He concentrated on looking down at his feet and not at the boy in front of him. "Er…I don't know…" 

            "Good," Draco said. "Meet me at seven at the same place as yesterday. Do you remember how to get there?" 

            Harry nodded weakly. Draco gave him a short nod and then turned to leave. Just as he had his hand on the door knob he turned around and kissed Harry roughly. He then left without a word. 

            Harry sighed and sat down on the cold floor of the classroom. He licked his lips slowly and almost smiled at the irony of the situation. Draco Malfoy had invoked more emotions in him than any other person. He had felt such strong hatred for him. He still did, but now lust was taking precedence over the hate. 

            Harry ran a hand through his already messy black hair and the ironic smile disappeared from his face. He couldn't meet Draco tonight. No matter what some parts of his body wanted, his brain was telling him that getting involved with Draco Malfoy could only mean trouble. They were on different sides of a war. Not to mention what Ron and Hermione would think if they knew he was having a tryst with their supposed enemy. And then of course there was the fact that he was male. Harry's face burned at the thought. He had come to terms with his odd feelings over the past year, but it still made him embarrassed every time he thought about it. 

            All the facts were telling Harry that he shouldn't go tonight. He promised himself that he wouldn't. There was no possible way that it could happen. Draco would have to find someone else to satisfy him. 

            Harry stood up and headed to the Great Hall for dinner. This time he didn't glance at the Slytherin table once. Having made his decision, he didn't think he could look Draco Malfoy in the eyes and stick to it. 

            After dinner, Harry went back to the common room with Ron and Hermione and tried to busy himself doing homework and playing chess. He couldn't help but notice with seven o' clock rolled around and his insides gave a guilty squirm. 

            "I'm going to go to bed," he said to Ron, though they were in the middle of a chess game. "I'm not feeling very well. Hermione can play," he muttered. 

            Ron gave him a concerned look, but Harry ignored him and ran up the dormitory as fast as he could. He collapsed on his bed in a heap and sighed loudly. 

            Draco Malfoy was waiting for him in a small space in the dungeons, waiting to kiss him, and take off his clothes. Harry moaned softly at the thought. But the consequences far outweighed any gain that he would get, Harry tried to tell himself. 

            It was no use. For every reason why he shouldn't go, his body was reminding him of the feelings he had experienced the night before. Harry looked at his watch. It was almost eight. Malfoy had probably figured out by now that Harry wasn't coming. Would he be angry? Disappointed? Or would he just find someone else? 

            Harry hoped Draco didn't corner him and invite him somewhere again. He didn't think he would have the discipline to say no. 

*~*~*

            Draco Malfoy was angry. It wasn't often that he allowed himself to get into this out-of-control state. No, usually he let discipline rule his life, like any Malfoy should. He was usually content to mutter under his breath, but right now he was livid. He wanted to punch something, preferably something with messy hair, and stupid black specs. 

            Draco balled his hands into fists. Harry Potter had not arrived at the specified time and place. Was it possible that he had not heard him correctly? No, Draco was sure he had been clear. The only possible explanation was that Harry Potter was purposely avoiding him. 

            Well, Harry Potter would find out what a mistake that was. No one avoided _him. After all, he was a Malfoy. Reassuring himself slightly, Draco relaxed his fingers and sighed as he made his way back to the Slytherin common room. Potter would learn soon enough how things went when you were dealing with a Malfoy. _

            He hurried into the common room and slammed the door behind him. People looked up from their various activities to give him dirty looks. Draco ignored them. Crabbe and Goyle were sitting on one of the green couches that sat in the room, looking lost as to what they should do without him. 

            When they spotted Draco, they ran up to him, looking ready to take orders. Draco held up a hand signaling them not to follow him as he went up to their dormitory. Draco opened the door roughly. Theodore Nott was rummaging through his trunk.

            "Get out," Draco ordered. Theodore gave him a dirty look, but he knew where his place was. He hurried out of the room, giving Draco his much-wanted privacy. 

            Draco lay on his bed and slowly began to replay the events of the night before in his head. He had called out to Potter in the dungeons. Potter had followed him to the tiny space hidden near the dungeons. Draco didn't remember what had happened before they kissed. He just knew that he had never felt so much emotion in such a short period of time. 

            They had kissed and groped and tore at each other until their clothes had lay at their feet. And then they had made each other feel as if they were the only two people in the world. Draco sighed and stuck a hand in his boxers. 

            It wasn't fair. How could Harry Potter do that to him? Harry Potter should have been thanking his lucky stars that Draco felt such passion when he was near him. Instead he had blown him off. Stupid Harry Potter…with his idiotic green eyes…and moronic Golden Snitch boxers. Draco groaned and bit his lip so he wouldn't be so loud. 

            He yawned and turned around in his bed. Tomorrow, Harry Potter would pay. 

AN: Please Review!

  



	3. Waiting

AN: Thanks to all who reviewed!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 3: Waiting

            Harry had a sick sort of feeling in his stomach. He was heading down to Potions with Ron and Hermione, but the only thing he could think about was how he would be seeing Draco Malfoy in only a few minutes. 

            He had not gone to see Draco yesterday and, it was hard to admit, but a tiny part of him regretted it. After all, Malfoy had just as much to lose as he did. Surely, he would make sure they were not found out. 

            As the dungeons came into view, Harry's eyes were busy scanning the groups of Slytherins looking for one in particular. And there he was with Crabbe and Goyle by his side as usual. He looked every bit as elegant as he usually did. His grin was replaced by a sneer when he saw Harry, however. 

            Harry tried not to panic as Draco sauntered up to him and signaled his cronies to stay where they were. Beside him, Ron stood up taller, clearly thinking Malfoy was about to pick a fight. Harry didn't know what he was going to do so he just waited. 

            Draco did not stop walking when he was only mere feet from Harry. He came so close that there bodies were practically touching. Uncomfortably aware of what this was doing to him, Harry backed away. 

            "What do you want, Malfoy?" He asked, hoping that the angry tone he usually used when speaking to Malfoy was present. 

            "You," he said sneering. 

            Ron stepped forward, obviously taking this as a threat to Harry's life. Malfoy, however, merely turned away and walked into the dungeon without another word. 

            Harry swallowed nervously as Ron and Hermione led the way into Snape's dungeon. Only he had caught the true meaning of Malfoy's reply. He looked around at his peers hoping no one had noticed anything different about their confrontation. All seemed normal. 

            Malfoy sat in his usual seat and looked over at Harry as the others began copying the list of ingredients they would need for their Bravery Brew off the board. Harry stared into the face he hated so much and was surprised to see Malfoy mouthing something to him. Harry struggled to make out the words….meet me after class? Harry looked down at his parchment. He would meet Malfoy after class and at least listen to what he had to say. He tried to prepare himself to tell Draco to shove off. To tell him that that night had meant nothing to him. 

            The lesson went by quickly. Usually, it felt like hours in Snape's horrible class, but today when Harry was nervous and would have liked some more time brewing difficult potions, the lesson flew by. 

            As Harry was leaving the dungeon with Ron and Hermione, he noticed Draco lingering behind and sending Crabbe and Goyle on their way. "I'll catch up in a couple of minutes," he told Ron and Hermione. 

            "What? Where are you going?" Ron asked puzzled. "It's time for lunch." His stomach growled. "See?"

            "I-er-want to get some books out of the library for that essay Snape just assigned us," he muttered. 

            Ron stared at him. "It's due in two weeks," he said.

            "I know. I just want to get…er…an early start," Harry mumbled.

            "Maybe I should go with you," Hermione said. "Two weeks isn't that much time." 

            "You can just use the books I get," Harry said impatiently, wondering if they would ever go away. "Don't worry. I'll get good ones." 

            "Well okay, Harry," Hermione said, looking skeptical. "Are you sure you're okay?" Harry nodded. With that they turned around and headed for the Great Hall. 

            Harry waited until he was sure they were far enough away before heading to the small space where he had been with Malfoy before. It didn't take him long to get there. Malfoy was waiting in the hall, right by the spot where the stones opened to reveal the little space. 

            "What took you so long?" he said. 

            Harry shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. "Are you sure this is safe?" He asked indicating to the two of them standing in the hallway. 

            "Everyone's at lunch, you idiot." Draco said. "Are you really that arrogant that you think people care where you are right now?" 

            Harry rolled his eyes and was surprised when Draco came up to him and pushed him roughly against the wall. "Do you want this, Potter?" he asked, inches from Harry's face. Draco kissed him forcefully, knocking his head against the hard stone wall. "I thought we had an agreement, but I suppose I was wrong. What's the matter, Potter? Is the Brave Gryffindor too damn noble for something like this?" He pressed harder against Harry. 

            Draco looked down at the bulge in Harry's pants. "Ah, well it seems _some parts of you don't feel that way." _

            Harry felt his face growing hot. It was bad enough that he did not have an answer for Malfoy, let alone that his….well that something else was providing him with one. Draco let his hand drift down to Harry's pants and brush against his erection. 

            Harry couldn't suppress a groan. Draco grinned wickedly. "Well, what'll it be Potter?" 

            All of the emotion that Harry had felt in the past two days overwhelmed him at that moment. He couldn't take Draco standing this close to him. He had to react. Without another thought, he kissed Malfoy hard and for once didn't think of the repercussions of his actions. 

            Draco responded almost immediately, but pulled away after a minute. Harry blinked. What the hell was he doing? 

            "Now Potter, I need to know that you won't pull another stunt like you did last night," he whispered. 

            "I-I won't," he said, catching his breath, not really caring what he had to say right now as long as Draco would keep kissing him. 

            "Are you sure?" Malfoy asked him.

            "Yes, yes," Harry said impatiently. 

            Draco laughed. "Well now, aren't we in a hurry?" He took out his wand and tapped the three stones that led into the small space, their space. 

            Harry followed him in and they immediately picked up where they had left off. Harry pushed Draco against the wall, wondering what he had done to deserve such pleasure. After a few minutes, Harry heard a bell sound somewhere in the distance.

            "Is lunch over already?" Draco gasped. 

            Harry nodded and went in for another kiss, but Draco pushed him away. 

            "I have to go," he muttered. 

            "Why?" Harry said. He winced. That had come out a little whinier than intended. 

            Draco rolled his eyes. "Certainly you are aware Potter that not everyone's life revolves around you. People are expecting to see me and unless you want people asking questions about where I keep going off to, I suggest you quit whining." 

            "Can we meet tonight?" Harry asked, surprising himself. He didn't think he would be brave enough to admit to Malfoy that he wanted to see him again. 

            "Eager, are we Potter?" Draco said with a malicious grin. "I'm afraid that I am unable to disappear from the common room every night." Harry thought he detected a hint of regret at these words. "I don't want people asking questions. Questions lead to people finding out things they are not supposed to find out? Do you understand Potter? Make sure you cover your tracks as well." 

            Harry nodded. "If not tonight, then when?" 

            "Soon," Draco said. "I'll let you know." 

            With that, he left. There was no goodbye, no pleasantries, not that Harry expected any. There relationship was purely physical. At least, it seemed that way. But Harry was intrigued by Draco Malfoy in more ways than one. 

            Harry looked down at his pants. He sighed. He would just have to take care of himself right now. He took off his pants and began working slowly on himself. He hoped Draco would keep his promise. He didn't know how long he could last without him. 

AN: Please Review!


	4. Make Him Squirm

            AN: Thanks to all who reviewed! I love you!

            Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 4: Make Him Squirm

Draco Malfoy felt like whistling as he walked into the Slytherin common room. He didn't of course. Malfoys never whistled. But he felt like doing it all the same. 

            Potter had finally admitted what had been apparent to Draco since their meeting, that he needed him. Draco smiled with satisfaction. He collapsed onto one of the comfortable couches near the fire and sighed happily. Things were going well. 

            It had been extremely hard to leave Potter in that little space only a few moments ago, but Draco knew he had to do it. It was important that Potter saw just how much he needed Draco. But still…it had naught been easy leaving that behind. Draco still felt hot. 

            "Draco, what's wrong?" Draco almost rolled his eyes. It was Pansy Parkinson. He supposed he looked rather worried when he was thinking. 

            "Nothing's wrong," he said shortly. But Pansy did not seem at all put off by his shortness. She sat closer to him and leaned her head on his shoulder. Draco tried to hide his expression of revulsion.

            Pansy had been fine when Draco had wanted to explore with girls when he was younger. She was his, of course, if he desired. It had been planned since they were babies, Draco was sure. They were both purebloods and that was all that really mattered. 

            And so at his father's parties he would be forced to entertain her. When he was thirteen, he had not minded. They would go up to his bedroom and experiment. But now when he could have so many girls at Hogwarts…well, Pansy just seemed too easy. 

            It did not help that she was female, either. Draco had been noticing the odd feelings towards males for a couple years now, and Potter in particular made him…uncomfortable. Pansy just couldn't compete, no matter how beautiful and tantalizing she tried to make herself. 

            "You know what, Pansy? I think I am feeling a bit sick. I'm going to go to bed," he muttered, not caring if he sounded genuine. 

            She put on a sympathetic face. "I knew something was wrong," she said with the air of a detective who has just cracked a difficult case. 

            Draco walked up to his bedroom, still thinking about Pansy and Potter. Perhaps it was a mistake to treat Pansy so harshly. What if she went off and told his parents? Then, what? He had to try to have a little patience with her, for his own sake. 

            But it was so hard to pretend that he liked her and enjoyed her company when Potter was hanging around the castle. Potter was a challenge. Potter would not come easy. Draco had to make Potter see that he needed him. 

            Draco let out a frustrated groan. He would have to wait at least two or three days to see Potter. He would wait until Potter came to him. It was all part of the game that Draco played so well. If Potter would stand him up, then this obviously meant nothing to Potter. Well, Potter would soon see how much he needed this. 

~*~*~

            Harry Potter walked back from the dungeons feeling a tiny bit confused. He didn't understand why Draco had to run off. What was there to do right after lunch that was so important? Nothing, that's what. 

            As he walked into the Gryffindor common room, he saw Ron and Hermione working on some homework. It suddenly occurred to Harry how weird his behavior must have seemed the last few days. He had to act normal. After all, what if they wanted to find out where he was going and followed him? The thought was almost too terrifying to imagine. He would just have to make more of an effort to be less suspicious. 

            "Hey," he said as he sat down at the table next to his two best friends. 

            "Where have you been?" Ron asked as he leafed through their Potions book. "You missed lunch." 

            "I know. I just wasn't hungry," Harry said, hoping this sounded like something that could be true. "I was just thinking."

            Ron and Hermione exchanged a look and Harry knew they assumed he had been doing his 'thinking' about Sirius. Harry pushed that thought to the back of his mind. 

            "Have you started your Potions essay yet, Harry?" Hermione questioned. 

            "No. We have two weeks," he muttered. 

            "You can copy mine, mate," Ron said with a grin. "I've just finished."

            "Where are those books you went to get from the library?" Hermione asked shrewdly. 

            "I didn't go," Harry said. "I was feeling kind of tired."

            Ron and Hermione exchanged a glance again. If he hadn't been making it all up, Harry thought he might have felt a bit angry at them for acting like he wasn't here. 

            Hermione turned to Ron. "And by the way, he will not copy yours. If he copies your essay, how will he ever learn the material?"

            "Er…he won't," Ron said with a grin. 

            Hermione rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you two. How you both even _passed _your Potions O.W.L. is beyond me." 

            "It's actually a lot easier to brew a Potion when Snape isn't breathing down your neck and dropping your sample," Harry said. 

            Ron nodded. "Yeah, that's true."

            Hermione gave an exasperated sigh. "Well, we better get going. It's almost time for Transfiguration." 

            Harry listened to Ron and Hermione bicker all the way to class. He thought he had covered his tracks very well. They seemed to attribute any odd behavior to his moodiness. 

            Harry hoped Malfoy would get back to him soon. He needed to see him. It was extremely strange to Harry that he was thinking like this. Not too long ago, he had thought he hated Malfoy. 

            But he still hated him. Harry knew that. He still thought Malfoy was a bigoted, spoiled brat. He still got angry when he made fun of Ron or called Hermione names. It was really all just some strange attraction that Harry could not explain. He only knew that Malfoy was a mystery to him and Harry wanted to find out more. 

            They reached Transfiguration and Harry soon realized that Ron and Hermione's bickering had not let up the entire way there. Harry rolled his eyes at the pair of them. He couldn't believe that they were incapable of seeing what was obvious to everyone else. 

            Or maybe Ron just didn't see it, Harry thought, as he watched Hermione massage her temples and mouth the word, why, to herself. 

            Harry tried to block out his tangle of thoughts as Professor McGonagall began the lesson. It was extremely difficult. He couldn't seem to get himself to concentrate. 

            The hour of class was painfully boring and Harry was happy when the bell sounded, ending the school day. Harry slung his bag onto his shoulder and was walking a bit behind Ron and Hermione when someone walked right into him. 

            Malfoy was standing extremely close, their bodies making full contact as he shoved Harry roughly. "Sorry, Potter," he said and continued walking. 

            Ron turned around and seemed about ready to go after Malfoy, but Hermione laid a calming hand on his arm and it had an immediate effect. 

            "Damn Ferretface," Ron muttered, but left him go. 

            _He has to stop doing that_, Harry though gruffly, as he moved his bag to his front to cover…his pants. But Harry was pretty sure that Draco knew exactly what he was doing to him and was only too happy to do it. 

            Harry spent the rest of the evening with Ron and Hermione, hoping that this normal night would make up for the way he had been acting. 

            He crawled into bed that night desperately hoping that an owl would come to him in the morning.

AN: Please review!


	5. Boys Interrupted

            AN: Thanks to those who reviewed!

            Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. 

Chapter 5: Boys Interrupted

            Four days had gone by since Draco had told him he would contact him and he had received nothing: no letter, no glance across the Great Hall, and no word of anything. Harry knew he couldn't stand it for another day. He sighed as he tied the note to a school owl while Hedwig looking down at him with disapproval. 

            "I can't use you, Hedwig," Harry muttered, more to himself than the bird. "Someone would know who it was from." 

            Harry looked down at his watch. The mail was due in five minutes. This owl would be there on time. 

            He walked down to the Great Hall hoping that Ron and Hermione had not noticed his absence. When he arrived at the Gryffindor table, they were not even there. Harry sat down beside Neville and began eating eggs robotically. He wasn't feeling very hungry. In fact, he was feeling rather sick. 

~*~*~

            Draco glanced across the Great Hall and found the person he was looking for: Potter. It was hard to miss that unruly, black mop. Four days. It had been four days since he had run his hands through it. 

            Any day now, Potter would be contacting him. Draco _knew_ it. He smirked and looked away from the Gryffindor table. 

            The mail was here. Draco looked up and saw his eagle owl, Raptor, coming toward him. Good. He examined the package the owl dropped with satisfaction. His mother liked sending him sweets. They were of far better quality and much more expensive than those that the others bought at Honeydukes. 

            Another owl came soaring toward Draco interrupting his thoughts. It looked like a school owl, too common to be anything from his father. Draco took the envelope from the owl and glanced at the Gryffindor table. Potter was staring determinedly at his food. Could he be any more obvious? 

            Draco pocketed the note and left the Great Hall, signaling to Crabbe and Goyle to remain where they were. He walked as quickly as he could to the Slytherin Common Room and up to his dorm. It was empty. 

            He collapsed on his bed and opened the note. 

            _Our place at eight._

There was no signature, no identifying feature to the letter…even the handwriting seemed to have been purposefully written in a strange slanted way. Draco ran a finger over the letter and smiled to himself.

            He had won. He had won the game that Potter didn't even know they were playing. Potter was dependent on him. Potter craved him. A small voice in the back of Draco's head argued that the reverse was true also, but Draco pushed that thought away. 

            Tonight at eight, he would go and Potter would get what he so badly needed. 

~*~*~

            Harry was nervous. Draco had accepted the note calmly and walked out of the Great Hall without even opening it. What if he had chucked it into the fire the first opportunity he had? What if he had read it and decided not to go? What if he was toying with him?

            The last prospect angered Harry more than the others. No matter what occurred between the two of them, Harry knew he could not trust Draco Malfoy. No matter what his hands felt like on Harry's body, he was still a conniving, bigoted, spoiled Death Eater in training. What if he was simply trying to gain Harry's trust? To get close to him so he could do something horrible? 

            Harry snorted. That would never happen. Tonight, he would question Malfoy before they did anything else. 

~*~*~

            At ten to eight, Harry grabbed his Invisibility cloak and headed down near the Slytherin Dungeons. Ron and Hermione had gone to the library to work on a Transfiguration assignment, but Harry had told them that he had not felt like doing homework tonight. 

            He had been torn about whether or not to bring the Invisibility Cloak. It wasn't something he really wanted Malfoy to know…but he supposed Malfoy already knew after what he had done to him at Hogsmeade in third year. Besides, he didn't want suspicious Slytherins questioning him about why he was down in their territory. 

            Harry arrived at the little space before Malfoy. He took off the cloak. It was too damn small in here. Next time, they would meet somewhere else…if there was a next time. 

            Malfoy arrived a few minutes after eight. He walked into the little space and lit his wand. 

            There were no greetings. Harry jumped right into the conversation he had been rehearsing in his head on the way here. 

            "Why didn't you owl me?" He asked quickly. 

            Draco, who seemed taken aback by his questioning, shrugged. "I was busy, Potter. I couldn't come here before tonight."

            Harry nodded. He supposed that was possible. But he wasn't done yet. "Why are you here? Why do you even…want to do this?" 

            Draco didn't respond right away. "I don't know. But I could ask you the same question." 

            Harry frowned and searched his head for an answer. There was none. "I don't know," he said softly. 

            "So I suppose we'll have to trust each other," Malfoy said. 

            "I can't trust you," Harry muttered.

            Malfoy raised his eyebrows. "Why can't you? Do you think The Dark Lord sent me to seduce you?" Malfoy snorted. "We're not that low Potter. I doubt that this would be approved of by anyone I know."

            Harry supposed he was right. They were trapped in this together. And Malfoy had something to lose from this too.  

            Harry looked up and Malfoy pressed his lips against his savagely. Harry groaned. _This was what he had been missing for four days. He returned the kiss with unusual force. _

            Harry pulled at Draco's robes and they fell to the floor. They were kissing harder and faster than they had last time. Harry dragged his tongue over Draco's bottom lip. Draco let out a noise and Harry kissed him harder. 

            Harry felt Draco's lips on his neck and his hands grabbing at his robes. Harry threw them to the ground and pulled off his shirt as Draco did the same. Harry wanted to explore as he had not had the chance to do their first meeting. That night had been so quick and short, but now Harry wanted to know Draco's body. 

            He ran a hand over Draco's pale, smooth chest and tasted his nipple. Draco groaned and pushed Harry up roughly against the wall. Harry had only a moment to feel slightly embarrassed as his erection dug into Draco's hip before Draco was kissing his stomach and unbuttoning his pants. 

            Harry kissed him forcefully, letting his tongue explore the other boy's mouth. He shivered as their tongues met and ran a hand through Draco's pale, fine hair. 

            Draco was tugging at his pants. Harry kicked off his shoes and tried to pull the pants off as fast as he could, tripping over his own feet in the process. 

            He fell to the ground, taking Draco with him. There was barely enough room to lie down in here, but they managed. 

            "You're so damn clumsy, Potter," Draco said, but he was too out of breath to say it with any venom.

            Harry responded by covering Draco's mouth with his own. He pressed down, crushing Draco between himself and the floor vaguely wondering if he was hurting him. Draco groaned. He did not seem to mind.

            Harry pushed down harder and felt Draco's erection against his own. He let out an odd sounding noise as Draco grinded his hips into Harry's. 

            Harry yanked Draco's pants off. The other boy groaned at the friction. Harry put his hands down to Draco's boxers and ran a hand slowly over his arousal. Draco pushed Harry's head down to his boxers. Harry hesitated only a second before taking Draco's boxers off and running his tongue over his erection. 

            Draco moaned loudly. 

            Harry leaned down to take Draco's arousal into his mouth, but stopped when he heard voices outside the door. 

            "Did you hear that?" Someone asked. 

            Harry sat up, his heart beating quickly. If someone found them…he shook his head. It wouldn't happen. 

            "Yeah…what was it?" Another person muttered. 

            "I think there's a secret passage somewhere down here," what sounded like a little boy said. "I heard a sixth year talking about it." 

            _Damn, Harry thought. He pulled on his clothes as quickly as he could as Draco did the same. _

            "I think it's near these rocks." The voices were right outside the door now. Harry grabbed the invisibility cloak and threw it over the two of them as they heard wands tapping at the stones. 

            "Isn't there a pattern?" One of them asked. 

            "Yeah…I can't remember what it is," Another said. 

            "Oh well. Let's get out of here. I don't hear anything else." 

            Harry heard footsteps getting further away from them and soon there was silence in the corridor.  

            "I didn't know a lot of people knew about this," Harry said, glaring at Malfoy. 

            "Not a lot of people do," Malfoy said fixing his hair. He looked annoyed. "I suppose some people just can't keep their mouths shut. I suppose you have a better place?" 

            Harry hesitated. Should he tell him about the Room of Requirement? It wouldn't be any harm of they were looking for a place…for the two of them. Malfoy wouldn't even have to know what it really was. 

            "Yes, I do. It's on the seventh floor, opposite that tapestry with Barnabas the Balmy. You have to think about the room and its purpose to get it to appear," Harry said, hoping he wasn't giving too much away. 

            Draco nodded. "Fine. Is this place a secret?"

            Harry thought about it for a second. Many people knew about the room. What if someone was using it and he didn't even know about it? He could always make the room locked…but what if someone was already there when he showed up. And Dobby had said the house-elves went there. Harry pictured Dobby entering him the room while he and Draco were going at it. 

            "Er…I don't think many people go there, but it's not as much of a secret as we would like," Harry said quietly. 

            Draco nodded and seemed to be thinking. "How about the Prefect's bathroom?" 

            "A lot of people have access to that, right?" Harry asked. 

            Draco shrugged. "You can put locking spells on there. The simplest unlocking charms won't work. And it's soundproof." 

            "What about that mermaid that's in there," Harry muttered. "What if she is awake? And the ghosts go in there sometimes..."

            Draco sighed. "There are certain spells one can use. We can charm it so ghosts can't come in and put the mermaid to sleep. How do you know about that anyway?" 

            Harry didn't answer. "Alright, The Prefect's bathroom it is. When?" 

            "Tomorrow, same time" Draco said quickly. He blushed a bit and frowned in annoyance. 

            "I thought you were far too busy to meet two days in a row?" Harry quipped. 

            "Yeah…well…we never finished here," Draco muttered. With that he got up and left the space. Harry went back to Gryffindor a few minutes later, anxious for the next day. 

AN: Please review!


	6. Different Sides

            AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Sorry this chapter took so long!

            Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 6: Different Sides

            Draco was nervous. He hated to admit it, but there was no other way to explain the jumpy feeling in his stomach that came every time he was going to meet Potter. 

            _Potter. _

The very thought of him made Draco's pale face go warm. Draco didn't know why he was becoming so dependent on the other boy. But he was. He even dreamed about him. It was sickening and Draco knew it was behavior unbecoming of a Malfoy, but he couldn't help it. He was walking quickly to the Prefect's bathroom to meet Potter for the second time in two days. Draco had been looking forward to it all day and had found it extremely difficult to pay attention in his lessons while the prospect of Potter had been hovering in his mind. He had sent an owl to Potter this morning with the password to the Prefect's bathroom, and he hoped they would not have anymore interruptions. It was getting quite old and Draco wanted nothing more that to be satisfied by Potter. 

            When he finally reached the Prefect's bathroom, Draco gave the password, and then proceeded to charm the place. He put a Sleeping Charm on the mermaid on the wall and a Solidifying Charm on the walls, making sure that no ghosts could interrupt them. After he was satisfied with his work, Draco started the taps and undressed. He climbed into the warm water and began to wait. 

            He had come early to prepare the place so Draco wasn't expecting Potter for a few minutes. Potter had better show up today and no more talking. There was no time for such needless chatter and Draco didn't feel the need to pretend as if this…thing that he and Potter had…was anything more than something sexual. It was only fueled by desire and nothing more. Draco assumed that such a thing was uncomfortable for the poor, noble Gryffindor. A Slytherin could see the benefit in it for him…but Gryffindors…well there was certainly nothing brave or noble about what they were doing. 

            Draco heard the door of the bathroom creak open. He looked up and saw Potter walk in. He looked flustered. "_Arcanio_," Potter said softly, pointing his wand at the door. 

            Draco nodded approvingly. There would be no more interruptions. None. Potter glanced at Draco in the swimming pool-sized tub and blushed. Draco resisted the urge to smirk. Potter was too damned obvious for his own good. He stood there looking stupid for a few moments and then began to take off his clothes. 

            Draco watched in fascination as Harry discarded his robes and then his shoes. He pulled off his shirt and Draco felt himself unable to look away. Potter was certainly not muscular, but he was not bad to look at. Potter removed his socks and unbuttoned his trousers. Draco felt his face go warm. Now _he_ was the one looking stupid.

            Potter looked up at Draco and seemed embarrassed as he pulled down his boxers and threw them aside. Draco felt himself harden as he stared at Potter's naked body. Potter hurried to get into the warm water. He swam over to Draco and they stared at each other for a moment. 

            Draco saw his own want mirrored in Potter's green eyes. They both leaned in at the same moment and their lips met in a warm kiss. Draco felt Potter's hands in his wet hair and moaned. He kissed Potter's neck and nibbled at the flesh below Potter's ear. Potter sighed.

            The sound only fueled Draco's want. He needed Potter. He ran his tongue down Potter's chest and kissed him roughly. This was how trysts were supposed to be: forceful, passionate, and pure raw emotion.

            Potter sent his tongue into Draco's mouth and Draco longed to feel that tongue on his arousal. He kissed Potter again and ran a hand over Potter's stomach and down to the other boy's erection. Potter moaned loudly and pressed himself against Draco. Draco licked his nipple and ran a hand through Potter's hair.

            Potter grabbed one of Draco's hands and put it between his legs. The message was clear. Draco began massaging Potter's arousal. Potter was breathing so hard that Draco felt the other boy's breath on his body. He moved his hand back and forth vigorously over Potter's erection. Potter groaned as Draco felt something moist on his hand. 

            Potter kissed Draco with such force that Draco stopped his roaming hands for a moment to concentrate on the feeling the kiss was giving him. He then broke apart from Potter briefly to drain the tub and then start the shower. Both boys stood as the last of the water drained from the tub and was replaced with a steady stream of hot water coming down onto them. 

            Draco knew what he wanted. He hoped desperately that Potter was willing to give it to him. He shoved Potter down to where his hardened arousal was aching with desire. Potter seemed to get it. 

            He dropped down to his knees and took Draco's erection into his mouth. Draco bit his lip to keep from groaning too loudly, but he could not stop himself from moaning a bit. Potter's mouth had enveloped his arousal and Draco could barely take the heat and the way Potter's tongue was tracing the outline of his cock.

            Suddenly, there was a loud pounding on the door. "Who's in here?" It sounded like Weasley. Potter hesitated. 

            "Don't stop," Draco whispered with some urgency. Potter complied and immediately got back to work on Draco's erection. Draco clenched his hands into fists and his fingernails dug into his palms painfully as Harry continued to pleasure him. 

            The pounding on the door continued. "Whoever's in there…it's an emergency! Now answer me before I go and get a teacher!" 

            Draco tried to catch his breath as Potter spit out a mouthful of white liquid. "It's me, Weasley," he yelled, trying to maintain the usual venom in his voice. "What do you want?" 

            "Dumbledore wants everyone in the Great Hall now, Malfoy! Hurry up and get out of there! The Prefects are supposed to be rounding up any stragglers."

            Draco and Harry got out of the tub and began dressing as they heard Ron walk away. They said nothing as Harry opened the door to the bathroom, looked down the hallway, and finally left when it seemed the coast was clear. 

            Draco waited a few minutes, took the charm off of the mermaid, and finally left the bathroom. He couldn't help grinning as he walked down the hall. Potter had been _wonderful_.

~*~*~

            Harry made his way to the library, feeling slightly alarmed. He had been feeling pretty damn good until Ron had said something about an emergency and going to the Great Hall. He knew Ron and Hermione must have been wondering where he was. He walked into the library and sat down at a table. There were a few other people in there. It seemed that no Prefects had come here yet to clear out the area. 

            No sooner had the though came into Harry's mind, then Ernie Macmillan came walking into the room. "Everyone needs to go to the Great Hall, now! Dumbledore wants to make an announcement!"

            Everyone in the library got up from their seats and followed Ernie to the Great Hall. Harry sat down at the Gryffindor table next to Ron and Hermione when he got there. 

            "Where have you been?" Hermione asked. "Dumbledore has something to say. He sent all the Prefects to get everyone…something's wrong." 

            "I was in the library," Harry muttered. Hermione didn't look like she believed him, but she said nothing as Dumbledore began speaking. 

            "Students, I have called you here to give you a grave announcement. Of course, you are all aware that Voldemort has returned." There was a collective shiver in the Great Hall at the mention of Voldemort's name. "Unfortunately, there has been an attack. The Death Eaters have completely demolished a Muggle village near Bristol. No one in this school was directly affected, but I must ask you all to please pray for the fallen. Since Voldemort's attacks have become more frequent, the school does not wish to send students home for the winter holiday, in fear of an attack. Your parents may come get you if they wish, but we will not be sending anyone home on the train this holiday season. I hope you all understand that this measure is in place for your safety. Thank you for your attention. You may return to your daily activities." 

            Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged a look as a stunned silence rang through the hall. Soon chatter began again, but it was of a much darker tone. 

            "This is bad," Ron said. "If You-Know-Who is attacking whole villages, he must be pretty powerful…" 

            Hermione's eyes were filled with tears. "Why Muggles? Why anybody? Oh…I hope nothing ever happens to my Mum and Dad. I don't-"  Her words were cut off as the tears spilled over onto her cheeks and she buried her face in Ron's chest. 

            "It's okay," he whispered. "Your parents are safe."  Harry looked away. He was sure that private moment was not meant to be watched by him. His eyes traveled over the hall and they landed on a pair of gray ones that were staring back at him. Malfoy. 

            It suddenly became all too clear to Harry that he and Malfoy were on different sides of a war. 

AN: Please review!


	7. The Repercussions of War

            AN: Sorry this took so long! Real life has been interfering. I hope to update more frequently. Summer's coming and that means more writing time! Thanks to all who have read and reviewed. I really appreciate it.

            Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 7: The Repercussions of War

Draco walked back to the Slytherin common room feeling slightly worried. He had seen the look on Potter's face when Dumbledore had spoken of the dead Muggles – had seen the look of worry and apprehensiveness. And Draco had only one thought on his mind: now what? Would Potter want to continue their tryst or would the nobility of his Gryffindor persona finally kick in? Draco could not allow Potter to get rid of him. He was not done yet.

            Draco was drawn out of his thoughts by an obnoxious giggling. "Did you even hear what I said, Draco?" Pansy asked from his left, refraining from giggling long enough to question him.

            "No," Draco muttered, hardly in the mood for Pansy, of all people, right now.

            Pansy rolled her eyes. "I said that I can't believe people actually care that those Muggles are dead."

            Draco nodded. He very much agreed with her. Why would anyone care if a bunch of random Muggles were killed? Draco could see why people felt remorse when it was their own loved ones – even if it was a Muggle – but why care about someone you didn't even know? Draco shook his head. It was hard for him to understand why people put so much time and effort into things that would not help them in anyway.

            Draco reached the Slytherin common room and went up to bed, feigning a headache. The rest of his house was sitting around the fire and discussing the Muggle killings and what You-Know-Who might do next. Their voices were laced with admiration and fear. Always the fear.

            Draco lay down in his four-poster and his thoughts once again returned to Potter. If Draco was honest with himself, he could admit that there was something besides sexual need that kept him in contact with Potter. Potter offered a challenge. With Potter it was a game of manipulating and control…all the while receiving pleasures Draco had only dreamed of. It was quite nice, really. And to know that Potter was lying to his friends and making excuses just so he could sneak around with Draco; it was all very nice.

            The problem came from the damn conflict going on outside the walls of Hogwarts. While Draco supported You-Know-Who, he was also a true Slytherin in all aspects, and the question remained: what was in it for him? The only benefit Draco could see was power and even this was a weak claim at best. Was his Father powerful? To a degree…but he had also been powerful without Voldemort. Draco didn't like the idea of being tortured and taking orders from someone other than himself. Many times Draco had weighed the advantages and disadvantages of joining Voldemort's ranks and it seemed fairly obvious to him that staying neutral was much less likely to get him killed and much more likely to keep him happy.

            Draco sighed and tried to clear those thoughts from his head. For a fleeting second he wished that Voldemort no longer existed, if only so he and Potter could continue their secret meetings without the fear of any real consequences. Sure they came from different social circles and had polar opposite beliefs, but that all didn't really matter if Voldemort no longer existed.

            He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind. Voldemort did exist and there was nothing he could do to change that…not that he really wanted to. Draco continued his circle of thoughts long into the night and eventually fell asleep with visions of Potter in his head.

            Harry woke up the following day feeling like he had not slept much at all. The night had been spent mulling over the day's events and it had seemed like forever before he had fallen asleep.

            After Dumbledore's announcement, Harry had gone back to Gryffindor with Ron and Hermione and discussed the events of the day in the common room for a bit before heading up to bed. It was only then that he had begun to think on his…"relationship" with Malfoy.

            Harry knew that Malfoy had become a rather large part of his life. In a week, Malfoy had become Harry's sole source of pleasure and satisfaction in life and Harry knew that a large part of him did not want to give that up. But he was also aware that Malfoy intrigued him, kept him guessing, and more than anything, Harry had just started to relax and enjoy his time with the other boy.

            And now it had to end.

            There was no other choice. Harry had spent the better part of the night thinking it through and trying to find someway for them to stay as they were without Harry feeling like a traitor. It was simply impossible. By staying with Malfoy, Harry _was_ a traitor.

            Harry would meet with Malfoy one last time to end the thing. He had considered doing it by owl, but that did not really seem fair. It was something that needed to be done face-to-face.

            So Harry had taken his Invisibility Cloak last night and went to the Owlery and sent a school owl with a note for Malfoy telling him to meet Harry in the Prefects bathroom during lunch so they could talk. Harry's insides were already squirming nervously at the thought of the meeting.

            Sighing, Harry got out of bed and began to dress robotically. He met Ron and Hermione for breakfast. Neither of them commented on his unusual silence, probably chalking it up to the attacks of the day before. Harry did not look at Draco as the morning post came. He was afraid that Malfoy would be able to see his intentions just by looking at him.

            The morning classes passed by in a daze. Harry barely remembered sitting through Flitwick's lecture on Diligence Charms. He didn't recall one question from the test they took in Transfiguration. The only thing that remained on his mind was Malfoy and their impending meeting.

            When the lunch bell rang, Harry muttered something to Hermione and Ron about going to the Owlery and took off in the direction of the Prefect's bathroom. When he arrived, Draco was already there, perched precariously on the edge of the tub. Harry could tell immediately that Malfoy knew something was up. But then, it must have been easy to figure out. Harry's note had said that they needed to talk.

            "So, what's this about, Potter?" Malfoy asked, a note of contempt in his voice.

            "I can't do this anymore," Harry began. "There's a war going on. I'm on one side and you're on the other. There's nothing else to say." Despite this pronouncement Harry did not turn to go.

            Draco sighed and for a moment Harry thought he had detected a hint of regret in his eyes. But a second later it was gone and Harry assumed he had imagined it. "This wasn't a problem a week ago," Malfoy said scathingly.

            Harry's face burned. He had let his impulses guide him and Draco knew it. "Yeah, well I lost sight of things. I didn't-"

            "Why did you lose sight of things?" Draco interrupted. "What happened?" He seemed to be searching for a particular answer.

            "I-I don't know," Harry stammered. "I suppose I was just…enjoying myself." He felt his face turning hot once again.

            Draco smirked. "Exactly, Potter. For once, you acted like a Slytherin and saw the good in it for you."

            "That's not exactly the punch line you want to use if you're trying to make me stay. I don't want to be part Slytherin," Harry muttered.

            Draco rolled his eyes. "Too bad. You know you are. Everyone is part Slytherin. Every time you helped yourself, you were a Slytherin. You've saved the world already. Let someone else do it this time. Do something for you."

            "It's not that simple," Harry said through gritted teeth, thinking of the prophecy.

            "Fine. Maybe you feel the need to do this for whatever reason, but that doesn't mean this has to stop," Draco said coldly.

            Harry gave a fake laugh. "How can you even say that? This is a war Malfoy. This isn't make-believe. My side is fighting against your side. My friends want to kill your friends. This can't happen!"

            Draco slid off the edge of the bathtub and came so close to Harry that he felt the need to take a step back. "Listen to me Potter," he began angrily. "I do not have a side! You think every person in Slytherin wants to be a Death Eater? Some of us are smart. We can see that there is no benefit in this for us. Do I want to join your side? Hell, no. Do I believe that the Dark Lord has the right idea? Yes. Do I want to fight battles for him? That's a whole different story."

            He was panting heavily as he finished his rant. And for the first time, Harry felt he had seen Draco Malfoy come undone. His face was slick with sweat and his hair was falling into his eyes.

            At that moment, Harry found Draco Malfoy to be more attractive than he had ever looked before.

            So it wasn't that surprising when Draco kissed him and Harry didn't pull away. Draco was kissing Harry in a furious manner as if this was the last time they would do so…and perhaps it was. He threw Harry's robe to the ground.

            Harry moaned as Draco kissed his neck and nibbled on his ear lobe. A small voice in the back of his mind reminded him that this was not what he had come here to do, but Harry ignored it.

            Soon both boys were shirtless and Draco let out a satisfied groan as Harry licked his nipple. Draco pushed Harry up against the wall and Harry let out a noise of pleasure as he felt Draco's erection grind against his own. They continued kissing in the same fierce manner and Draco let a hand wander down to Harry's pants and unzipped them.

            Harry pulled his pants off and groaned loudly as Draco stuck a hand inside his boxers. Draco ran a hand vigorously over Harry's arousal and Harry let out a low whimper as he climaxed.

            As Harry's breathing returned to normal, he suddenly remembered his purpose for being there. He looked at Draco's half-naked body and swore. Once again, he had let his sexual desire take over in the decision making department.

            Harry was going to make sure that this was the last time it happened.

            "This is over," he said firmly as Draco attempted to kiss him again. "We're through." He put his clothes back on and without another word left Draco Malfoy in the Prefect's bathroom.

AN: Please review!


	8. Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen

            AN: Here's the next chappy! Thanks to all who reviewed!

            Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter!

Chapter 8: Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen

Hermione Granger decided it was time to confront her best friend. Something strange was going on – had been going on for over a week – and she was going to get to the bottom of it. Harry was a very bad liar and she had noticed his sudden disappearances over the last few days. He actually expected her to believe that he would go to the library by himself? That might work on Ron, but not her.

            She walked purposefully across the Gryffindor common room and sat on the couch next to Harry. Ron had already gone up to bed and the common room was mainly deserted except for a few third years who were huddled up in the corner working on an assignment.

            "Hey," Hermione said softly, feeling as if she would disturb his peace if she talked in her usual loud manner. "How are you?"

            "Fine," Harry muttered as he always did when asked that question.

            But Harry Potter was hardly ever fine. And Hermione knew that. She knew he was constantly dealing with the threat of Voldemort, not to mention that prophecy he had told them about at the beginning of the school year…and now it seemed there was yet another burden on his shoulders. But what was it?

            "You're not your self, Harry. What's the matter?" Hermione prodded.

            "Nothing," Harry said. "I'm just a bit tired."

            Hermione sighed. "I know there's something going on. You keep telling Ron and me that you are going off to the library or going off to think. I don't think you're telling the truth Harry. What have you been up to?"

            Judging by the rose tinge that was coloring Harry's cheeks, Hermione guessed she was right. He was hiding something. "Harry it's me. You can tell me, whatever it is."

            "Not this," Harry mumbled.

            "Is it your scar? Did it hurt you again? Are you avoiding telling everyone to keep them out of danger?" Hermione said in a rush.

            Harry laughed sardonically. "I wish it was my scar."

            Hermione frowned. What could possibly be worse than seeing one of Voldemort's terrible deeds? Hermione tried to think of her worst secret. What would she be ashamed or scared to tell her best friends? She thought back to when she first started noticing her feelings for Ron. Those had been rather embarrassing feelings. She cast a sideways look at Harry.

            "Is it a girl?" She said quietly.

            Harry coughed rather violently. "Not exactly."

            Sensing he was close to divulging the truth, Hermione pressed on. "Come on Harry…I swear I won't tell anyone…not even Ron if you don't want me too." It pained her to keep a secret from Ron, but Harry was her best friend too and if he was too embarrassed to reveal whatever it was to Ron for whatever reason then she would be there for him.

            "Hermione…what if you liked someone, but…but this person was wrong…" Harry trailed off.

            Hermione was puzzled. "What are you talking about?"

            "Never mind. This is stupid," Harry said savagely and got up to leave.

            Hermione grabbed his wrist and pulled him back down next to her. "Harry just tell me!" She said loudly beginning to get impatient.

            "It's just…what if Ron was…what if the person you liked wasn't for the same things you were…what if this person was against you?" He asked.

            "What do you mean 'against you'?" Hermione questioned him. "Against you in what way?"

            Harry paused and looked down at his hands. "Against you…in the war."

            "Oh, Harry," Hermione whispered sympathetically. "I don't know what to tell you. Is this a crush or what?"

            Harry continued to not look her in the eye. "For the last week, I've been kind of…meeting someone. We've been…er…seeing each other, but this person isn't on our side, Hermione. So I broke it off. But I think…I think sometime in this last week I started to really like this person and now…now I don't know what to do."

            Hermione was amazed that Harry was actually opening up to her, but then it wasn't like he could go to Ron with this sort of problem. Hermione amused herself for a moment imagining Ron, the boy who had taken two years to notice her feelings, trying to give Harry love advice and then turned back to the problem at hand.

            "I'm not sure what to tell you, Harry. You're going to have to ask this girl where she stands and…if she's against us then I'm not sure you can be involved," Hermione said.

            Harry turned crimson. "Er…itisn'tagirl."

            "What?"

            Harry cleared his throat. "I said, it isn't a girl."

            Hermione took a moment to digest this information. If she was completely honest with herself, it wasn't a huge revelation. After all, Harry hadn't really been involved with many girls. Cho was the only one and even then he had not seemed enthused about their relationship. But still, it was something of a shock to hear him name it…and he was involved with another Hogwarts male.

            "Well, Harry….then you're going to have to ask him where he stands."

            "I did," Harry muttered. "He said he doesn't have a side. I just don't know if I can trust him."

            "Who is it?" Hermione asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

            "I don't want to tell you," Harry said, staring at his knees.

            She grinned. "Come on, Harry. How bad can it be?"

            He gave her a look that suggested it could be very bad, very very bad, but she pressed on. "I won't judge."

            He looked up at the ceiling as if to ask whatever deity was up there why he was going to do what it was he was about to do. "Malfoy."

            "WHAT?" Hermione yelled, rising to her feet for no reason.

            "Would you shut up?" Harry said, not too quietly himself. This time it was Harry who had to pull _her _back to a sitting position.

            Hermione was…shocked wasn't a strong enough word…she was stunned…she was dazed. Draco Malfoy? Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter? She wanted to laugh at the sheer absurdity of it. Or cry. She wasn't sure which.

            "It's a trap," she told him. "It has to be."

            Harry shook his head. "I thought it might be too…at first, but then…I don't know. It's not like he asked me for information or hurt me in any way. We don't really even talk. We just –" Harry stopped talking abruptly and a telltale blush rose in his cheeks once again.

            Trying to free her mind of those mental images, Hermione searched for something supportive to say, but it was difficult. After all, her best friend was falling for a Death Eater's son.

            "You can't trust Draco Malfoy," she said finally. That hadn't been very supportive at all.

            "I know that," Harry muttered and he looked as if he'd been through these things in his head a hundred times. "But he's risked just as much as I have. He told me that he doesn't have a side, that he doesn't want to be on our side, but he isn't too crazy about Voldemort's side either. I keep looking for a trap somewhere, but if it's a trap then wouldn't he try to join our side?"

            Hermione said nothing. True, it didn't make much sense, but then the thought of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy snogging didn't make much sense either.

            "I told him that I couldn't do it anymore, that I couldn't lie to my friends and keep meeting someone who believed in everything that I stand against. But…I mean…I think I like him more than I realized," Harry continued.

            Hermione tried to think of something to say to this extraordinary pronouncement but could come up with nothing.

            "Now would be the part where you give me some sort of problem-solving proverb," Harry mumbled.

            "How did this happen?" Hermione blurted out before she could stop herself.

            Harry's face turned red for what Hermione thought must have been the tenth time that night. "Remember when I went to talk to Snape about The Order about a week ago?"

            Hermione nodded.

            "Well I was walking back to Gryffindor and Draco saw me and started insulting me. Then we saw Mrs. Norris and I thought Filch might catch me and I knew Snape wouldn't get me out of trouble so I followed Draco. I thought he would know somewhere to hide. I was right. He went into a little secret compartment and I followed him. Then…I don't know…we weren't insulting each other and the next thing I knew…we...we were kissing."

            "Well that's not something you hear everyday," Hermione joked weakly.

            "And the thing is…I thought…I thought I was just in it for that…you know…the kissing…but after I broke it off…well…I kind of…I kind of miss him," Harry finished.

            "So let me get this straight," Hermione began, "first, you two meet up randomly in the hall and before you know it, you're kissing your archenemy…and then you start a secret relationship with the aforementioned archenemy…and then you start to get all conflicted about who's on whose side…and then during one of your clandestine rendezvous, you decided to break it off because you're from different backgrounds and believe in different things?"

            Harry grinned. "Well yeah…all except for the archenemy thing. Isn't Voldemort my archenemy?"

            Hermione ignored him. "Here's what I'm going to tell you Harry. You know you can't trust Draco Malfoy, but he doesn't seem to be setting you up at all. He needs to know how seriously you feel about this…how much you are against Voldemort. Give him an ultimatum: either he gives up being Voldemort's minion or he can say goodbye to you. If he likes you as much as you seem to like him…then you should be set. But if he can't make the sacrifice, then I don't think it's possible for you to keep seeing him."

            Harry nodded, looking serious once more.

            "I'm going to bed," Hermione told him. "Think about what I said."

            "Okay," Harry said.

Hermione turned and started climbing the girls' staircase.

"Oh…and Hermione?" Harry called after her. Hermione turned around to face him once more.

 "Thanks."


	9. Sacrifice

            AN: Another chapter! Thanks to all who reviewed! You're great!

            Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 9: Sacrifice

Harry swallowed nervously. He couldn't believe what he was about to do and who he was going to talk to. The thought of it was absurd…but he was doing it.

            He was going to talk to Dumbledore.

            Harry had thought long and hard about what Hermione had told him and he decided that she was right. Draco needed to pick a damn side. The ambiguous answer he had already given Harry was not enough.

            So Harry had practiced what he would say in his head. He had gone over his reasoning and the possibility of rejection a hundred times over. It was only just now, minutes before their meeting, that he had thought of the chance that Draco might say yes.

            And then what?

            If had occurred to Harry that if Draco renounced everything he believed in, then he would need somewhere to go. His father sure as Hell wouldn't let him come back if he had sided with Harry Potter.

            Harry grinned. The thought of the look on Lucius Malfoy's face if his son decided to turn was almost too funny.

            "Remember Black," Harry muttered at the stone gargoyle that was guarding Dumbledore's office. The gargoyle jumped aside and let him through. He walked up the steps leading to the circular room and peered in.

            Dumbledore was sitting at his desk looking towards the door as if he had been expecting him. He motioned to a squashy purple armchair that sat in front of the desk.

            "Sit, Harry," He said with a wave of his arm.

            Harry obeyed and tried to muster up the courage to begin this awkward conversation. "Sir…I need to ask you something…that is…it's kind of a strange request…"

            Dumbledore nodded. "Well let's hear it," he said with a smile.

            "Er...okay. I have this friend…he is…that is he is a son of a Death Eater...but there is a chance that he might want to be on our side…but if he does want to do this…he would have nowhere to go…" Harry finished and looked at Dumbledore for some solution.

            "Well Harry," Dumbledore began, "if this friend of yours is serious he will be able to stay at Grimmauld Place under a few conditions. One: he will have to state his purpose under the influence of Veritaserum. Two: he will never be able to leave unless given permission by me. Three: No one must know where he is going, not his friends or any relatives."

            Harry nodded and sighed in relief. He tried not to get his hopes up, tried to tell himself that there was no way Draco would agree to such terms, but a part of him could not help but hope. And that hope infested his heart, his mind, his soul until he began imagining a real relationship with Draco Malfoy.

            Harry shook his head.

            He would need to talk to Draco first and convince him to give up everything he had ever believed in.

            Harry made his way to the Prefects' bathroom. He had sent an owl to Draco this morning and he hoped the other boy would not ignore him.

            He was going out of pure curiosity, really. There was no other reason for it. Draco Malfoy pushed a strand of elegant blonde hair out of his eyes and sighed.

            When he had received an owl from Harry this morning, he had been happy and angry and relived all at once. Perhaps there was a chance they could be back together. Potter had better just quit fucking with him and tell him what was going on.

            He wouldn't play anymore damn games.

            When Draco entered the Prefects' bathroom, Harry was already there. He was sitting against the wall with his head down. His black hair looked as untidy as usual and his robes were disheveled. He looked worn out.

            "Well?" Draco said rather rudely. He did not care if he was impolite. _He_ thought it was pretty impolite to leave someone craving pleasure with no way of getting it…but Potter did not have a problem with _that_.

            Harry's head snapped up. He stared at Draco for a second and then stood up. He ran a hand through his hair which only succeeded in making it look messier…if that was even possible. He drummed his fingertips against the wall nervously. Draco raised an eyebrow at him. He was certainly acting strange.

            "I like you," he began quickly, "and not just for what we do in here. I'm attracted to you and drawn to you. I don't know why…but when we were apart I-I missed you." He surveyed Draco briefly before continuing. "But I can't betray my friends. If we're together you have to go all out. I'm sorry but that's the way it has to be."

            Draco snorted. "Typical Gryffindor. Stubborn noble prat, what about _my_ friends?"

            Harry shrugged. "That's why I'm sorry. I'm sorry that it can't be different. I'm sorry we can't be like other couples. I'm sorry I can't give anything up. I just think it's a tad bit easier for someone to give up killing people than it is for someone to start killing people."

            Draco leapt forward and seized Harry by the front of his robes. "Listen Potter," he spat, "I've never killed, I've never tortured and I'd appreciate it if you'd quit acting like I have."

            There was a moment of silence in which only Draco's labored breathing could be heard.

            "You're right," Harry whispered. "I apologize. I shouldn't assume that kind of stuff."

            "You think it's so simple Potter. You think it's so easy to give up things I've been hearing about for 16 years. It's not easy. It's far from easy."

            "I know it's not easy." Harry said and took one of Draco's hands in his. "But I'll help you. We'll be in it together. I even found a place where you can stay."

            "You're asking me to give up everything – my friends, my family, my principles," Draco muttered disbelievingly. "All for something that is barely there."

            Harry grinned sadly. "I've never felt this way about anyone before. Maybe we've only noticed it in the last week or so…but the emotion has been there for a lot longer. I think it's even more amazing that I've grown so attached to someone I barely know."

            Draco sighed. "I'm going to have to think about this, you know. It's too big for me to just flip a coin. I mean…it's my life."

            Harry nodded. "I understand. Do you need some time alone?"

            Draco swallowed hard.  "Actually…woul-would you mind sticking around for a little while?"

            Harry frowned. "Sure, but why?"

            Draco spoke so softly that he was surprised Harry could hear him. "Because I think if you remind me of what I would be missing…I might make the right decision." Draco was shocked at how close to tears he was. He bit his lip and tried to think of anything except the choice he had to make. It was overwhelming.

            But there was Harry.

            Draco felt warm lips on his forehead and then on his cheeks. He closed his eyes and let Harry cover his face with kisses until their lips finally met. Their tongues mingled casually and Draco sighed with contentment.

            They parted.

            "You know," Draco said suddenly. "I missed you too."

            Harry laughed gently before kissing him again. Draco worked quickly to get Harry's robes off and then discarded his own. They continued kissing as Draco unbuttoned Harry's shirt and threw it to the floor. He ran a hand over Harry's chest and sighed against the other boy's lips.

            He took off his own shirt quickly and leaned in to kiss Harry once more but he had backed away.

            "What is it?" Draco asked.

            "It's just…you haven't made your decision yet. This is still wrong," Harry muttered looking down at his hands.

            "Look at it this way," Draco said hurriedly. "If I say yes then this is right, and if I say no this is the last time we'll see each other. It will be goodbye."

            Harry looked up at him and for a moment Draco just stared into his dark green eyes.

            And then Harry leaned in and kissed him hungrily. He nibbled on the Draco's neck and kissed his chest and seemed to be trying to get all he could before Draco was taken away.

            Harry put his hands in Draco's hair. Draco knew it was probably getting mussed up but for once he did not care. For once he was concentrating on the moment…he was living for the instant. He was not thinking about choices, or his father, or his friends, or the consequences. Harry was all that he felt, all that he knew.

            Harry worked clumsily to unbutton Draco's pants and pulled them off as Draco did the same to him. This took a couple of moments but soon both boys stood in their underwear. Harry pushed Draco gently to the ground and before he knew it, Draco was being crushed between Harry and the floor.

            Draco groaned loudly as Harry's erection rubbed against his own. The friction was almost too much for either boy to take. Draco made another noise as Harry pushed himself roughly against Draco….again and again and again.

            Then Draco felt himself free. He opened his eyes. Harry was standing in front of him and was busy pulling off his boxers. Draco felt the other boy's hand on the back of his head, guiding him between Harry's legs.

            Draco wanted nothing more to please Harry at that moment. He licked the tip of his arousal and Harry moaned. He put his mouth around Harry's cock and began to pleasure the other boy. Harry's groans and yells only fueled Draco to go faster and faster and faster until finally he swallowed a mouthful of liquid.

            While Harry caught his breath, Draco removed his own underwear. Coherent thought was impossible as Harry began to lick his erection all over. Draco watched the other boy's head move back and forth and could barely contain the scream that was bursting to get out of him.

            When Harry was done, both boys put their boxers back on and stared at each other.

            "I'm assuming you haven't decided yet," Harry said with a grin. "You haven't had much time to think."

            Draco returned the smile. "No, I haven't. The Gryffindor Seeker is always trying to get into my robes."

            Harry laughed. "Well I guess I'll go n-"

            "No…" Draco muttered. "Just stay here." He took out his wand and conjured two blankets. He laid one on the floor and sat down. Harry did the same. He put the other blanket over top of them.

            Harry took out his own wand and conjured two pillows.

            "Nice." Draco commented.

            "The Gryffindor Seeker doesn't spend all his time trying to get into the Slytherin Seeker's robes," Harry said with a chuckle.

            They both lay down. It was a thrill for Draco to be lying next to Harry, who was mostly naked except for his underwear. They lay there for awhile and soon Draco heard the steady breathing of someone who had fallen asleep.

            Draco turned to Harry and stared. It wasn't often when he could just stare. Usually, when he looked at Potter, he would have to turn away or it would seem too obvious or Potter would notice. But now…he could stare as long as he wanted.

            He looked at the mop of unruly black hair and touched it gently. It was so soft…like that of a baby. Draco wondered fleetingly what shampoo he used. Then he glanced down a bit and took in his scar. Draco had always been jealous of that scar…the mark that made him a hero in everyone's eyes. It didn't look so horrible anymore. Draco kissed it softly.

            Harry stirred a bit, but did not wake up. He fitted himself against Draco and then went back to an undisturbed slumber. Harry was perfect.

            But was he worth everything that Draco had worked his whole life to attain?

            Draco thought for hours as he listened to Harry's restful breathing. He thought about everything he was giving up and the small amount he was gaining and the uncertainty surrounding it all.

            It was well into the night when Draco finally made his decision.

AN: Please review!


	10. Revenge

AN: I know it's been forever since I have updated. I've been a little busy and I wanted to make sure that this story was continuing to go as I planned to. It takes awhile for me to write sometimes as I'm constantly mapping out later chapters. There are still many chapters to come. Thanks to all who have reviewed so far! I appreciate all your comments and criticisms!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 10: Revenge

Harry watched his legs swing back and forth trying not to think about what Draco was going to say. The reality was he had no idea what Draco was going to say, but imagining conversations really wasn't going to help his psyche.

So he waited.

Harry sat on the edge of the tub in the Prefect's bathroom. They had decided to meet there simply because there was nowhere else to meet. Harry tried not to picture what they had been doing here the night before.

Harry's breath caught in his throat as he heard the door open.

There was Draco, looking immaculate in velvet black robes. His blonde hair was meticulously combed back and his face wore the usual arrogant expression. Harry tried to smile, but found that the corners of his mouth would not turn upward and that his lips were dried and cracked. He moistened them and was about to speak when Draco's voice rang out.

"I never want to see you again," he said coldly, without preamble. "Never talk to me again. Never look at me again."

Harry forced himself to swallow the lump that was in his throat. He wanted his voice to sound raw and emotionless like Draco's but it came out softer than intended. "This is over?" He questioned, disbelievingly.

Draco's cold gaze swept over him. He stared for what seemed like hours. "This never happened."

Harry's jaw dropped as Draco, no, _Malfoy _turned and walked away.

Just like that.

It was not in his nature to cry. He never did it and he didn't now. But Harry thought that if he was the type of person who cried when he was sad, who sobbed when he felt empty, well he just might have done it.

---------------------

Draco smiled a genuine smile. That had been easier than he thought. He had dumped Potter. It felt almost good in a masochistic way…he was punishing himself.

His father would have been pleased.

Draco's eyes narrowed as he thought of his father. His father would never know anything about this. His father was the reason Draco had made the right decision. There was no way Draco could deliberately disappoint the man.

In the heat of sexual passion, he had considered it. He had contemplated going over to the good side and perhaps even fighting alongside Potter…as Potter needed it to be. But after he had settled down and thought about in a rational manner, well, there had been nothing to think about. The decision was clear.

There would be other Potters. There would be no way to rectify the mistake if he had chosen to fight for Dumbledore and his cronies.

Draco was so caught up in his thoughts that he did not notice when he ran into someone. The other person fell down and Draco resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

It was Pansy.

"Sorry," Draco muttered, picturing his mother's face if he had said nothing to the girl he had just knocked down.

Pansy looked angry about something. Draco didn't ask any questions. No doubt he would hear about it in front of the common room fire that night.

"I've been looking all over for you, Draco," She simpered.

"I've been busy," Draco said, not at all interested in the conversation that was taking place.

"Are you coming to the Halloween feast tomorrow?" Pansy asked.

_No, I have other things to do at a Boarding School rather than attend the feast that the rest of the school is going to, _Draco thought of saying. Instead he said evenly, "yes."

Pansy smiled. Mercifully, she had nothing else to say to him as they went back to the Slytherin common room. Draco decided to head up to bed. It had been a long day. As he slid his hand inside his boxers, he tried to think of anyone but Potter.

He couldn't.

---------------------

Pansy couldn't even cry.

She was too _angry. _

The nerve of him! She offered herself to him! She let him do as he wished! He had made her doubt herself! And the whole time, he was gay. It was unbelievable.

Pansy sat in front of the fire in the Slytherin common room alone. It was well past midnight and the rest of her housemates were in bed. But the events of the day were still running through Pansy's head and she couldn't make them go away.

She had been leaving the Great Hall, by herself for once. Draco had not been interested in chatting that day at dinner and Pansy had no longer wished to sit next to him in silence. She was walking by the Prefect's bathroom when she saw him.

Potter.

He was not a Prefect and yet she watched as he entered the Prefects' bathroom with ease. Pansy had considered going in there and telling him off, but had convinced herself that the boy probably had special permission to use it.

Yes, poor Potter was too fragile to use the regular loos.

So she had walked away, mumbling under her breath about Gryffindors and favoritism…until she had heard footsteps.

She had just rounded a corner, but something told her to investigate the disturbance further. Pansy peeked around the corner and saw Draco walking down the hallway. She had just been about to call out to him when she watched him enter the Prefects' bathroom.

At first she had thought it had been some kind of accident. Perhaps Draco hadn't known Potter was there. She waited…two, three, four minutes. Finally, almost ten minutes later he had come out.

Even then she had not been sure. After all, if Draco had gone in there accidentally he might have stayed to hurl some insults at Potter.

Pansy walked up to him. She wanted him to call out to her. When she realized he wasn't going to do anything of the sort, she walked into him.

She fell over dramatically and dusted herself off before getting to her feet. Now, certainly he would begin to brag about the run in with Potter, how he had made Potter so angry he would have punched him…but instead he said nothing about Potter.

Pansy was livid.

It had occurred to her later that there was no way Draco Malfoy would pick a fight without a crowd around him. He would certainly not go insult or duel Potter alone…not the boy who had survived numerous encounters with the Dark Lord.

And that left only one conclusion.

They were together.

At first, Pansy could barely believe herself. But after awhile it was the only thing that made sense. For awhile, Pansy knew that Draco had been cheating on her. She did not care. After all, she was the choice that made sense. She was acceptable to the Malfoys and whatever fling Draco needed to get off his chest, well, he would have to pick her in the end.

But Pansy had been wrong. He had been cheating on her _with Potter. _He was into boys himself and that was something that she could not take.

She would not be his consolation prize. She adored Draco Malfoy for his handsome face and his cunning and ambitious nature, but she did not love him. And he did not love her. That was fine.

Pansy could not deal with a husband who did not find her attractive, a husband who wanted nothing more than the Boy-Who-Lived. She would not have it.

She would have revenge.

Pansy grinned in the firelight. Draco Malfoy would pay.

AN: Please review!


	11. Follow the Rat

AN: Thanks to those who reviewed!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

**Chapter 11**: Follow the Rat

Harry sighed and moved his chess piece, not really getting into the game. He watched as Ron took his castle and in the same move, had him checkmated.

"Checkmate," Ron said with a smile.

"Got me again," Harry muttered. He stood up and walked over to the fire. He didn't feel like pretending to be happy today.

Ron yawned and stretched. "I'm going to bed. You coming?"

"I'll be up in a bit," Harry told him. Ron nodded and took off up the stairs to the boys' dormitories.

Harry glanced at the Christmas decorations that adorned the common room. He wasn't in a very festive mood, even though the next day was Christmas. It had been nearly two months since the day Malfoy had basically told him to shove off and Harry was still feeling hurt. It wasn't fair that he should feel this way about Draco Malfoy when there were plenty of women and even men who would want to go out with him. It wasn't fair that Draco Malfoy had pretended to feel something and then had taken it all away. It wasn't fair that every time Harry tried to catch his eye in the hall, Draco Malfoy ignored him.

Harry had stayed at the school for the winter holiday as most of the students had. Only those whose parents would come to the school to get their children could leave and there weren't a lot of parents who were willing to put their kids in danger. Of course, these rules didn't apply to the Slytherins, whose parents were the ones _causing _the danger. Indeed, most of their parents had shown up at Hogwarts and whisked them away to their homes.

Harry sighed again. It had been nice being able to at least look at Draco. After Harry had heard Malfoy's decision, he had been sad, and then angry. He had held onto the hope that Malfoy would change his mind. He didn't.

And now Harry was just lonely.

Sure, he had Ron and Hermione and two better friends he could not ask for. But it hurt to see them hold hands or catch them kissing and realize that he had lost that. He wasn't completely pessimistic. He knew that some day he would find someone else, but still, the ache in his chest was almost too much to bear.

He stared into the flames and wondered what Draco Malfoy was doing at this very moment.

Draco Malfoy was not a very happy camper.

"That _bitch_. That stupid _bitch," _he muttered quietly. His hands were curled up into fists and his lower lip trembled.

He was so _angry. _

He couldn't believe that Pansy had sold him out. A part of him was mad at himself for underestimating her, but mostly, he hated her. It was her fault he was stuck in the dungeons of his own home, her fault that his Father had kicked the shit out of him. The man had never laid a finger on him, but hearing that his son was gay had sent him into a towering rage.

Draco had denied it. He had told him it wasn't true. But he knew his Father wouldn't believe him. What did Pansy have to gain by lying about this? No, she was hurting herself. No doubt he would be killed and Pansy would not be married into the Malfoy name.

So Draco's father knew it wasn't a trick.

He heard a tray slide into his cell. He grabbed a piece of bread and shoved it into his mouth. He was starving. As he ate his meager meal, his mind traveled back to Potter.

He should have sided with him.

_Hindsight is 20/20. _

If only he had connected the dots, remembered that Pansy had been right there as he had come out of the prefect's bathroom, recollected her sudden coldness towards him…he could have stopped her from telling his father or at the very least, he could have went with Potter and avoided the entire situation he was in now.

No, Pansy was smarter than she let on. Draco had been terrified that his father was going to torture him for information about Potter, but he had not. And Draco could only assume that Pansy had not told his father that the male he had been running around with was Harry Potter.

A true Slytherin move.

She had saved that piece of information, assuming that his father knowing he was gay was bad enough. She was right. And now she could tell his father about Potter anytime she wanted…if she needed to at all.

Of course he would probably die at this rate anyway.

_He's probably trying to starve the homosexuality out of me, _Draco thought wryly as he finished his bread and cheese. He drank his glass of water in one gulp and sighed. His throat was still parched.

Harry was just about to go up to bed when he heard a noise. It sounded like something was moving. Curiously, Harry looked under the couch he was sitting on and gasped.

It was Scabbers.

Or rather, Peter Pettigrew.

Harry reached out a hand to grab the rat, but the rodent moved out of his grasp and ran towards the portrait hole. Harry laughed. There was no where for the animal to go.

He stared incredulously as the portrait hole opened.

Not pausing to think about getting someone else, Harry raced after the rat. "_Lumos_!" He called out, lighting his wand. He could barely see the rat, racing through the Hogwarts corridors, but the rat couldn't run that fast. Harry was managing to keep up.

They reached the doors to the castle and again Harry was surprised as the door opened. The night was cold, but Harry barely noticed as he made continuing grasps at the rat. Harry didn't even realize where they were going. His mind was solely focused on the rodent in front of him.

Harry was gaining on the rat and decided to go for it.

He dove and grabbed Wormtail with his right hand. He yelled out as one of the Whomping Willow's branches struck him on the side of the head. He fell down. The world seemed to be spinning. He still held Scabbers in his hand.

Harry watched as two people appeared from thin air. _Invisibility cloaks, _Harry thought vaguely.

And then everything went black.

AN: Please Review!


	12. No Escape

AN: I'm in school now so updates will be a tad more infrequent. Sorry about that. Thanks for the reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

**Chapter 12: **No Escape

Ron Weasley's heart was pounding quickly and his insides were frozen in fear. He was running as fast as his legs could carry him. He was going to Dumbledore's office.

His best friend was missing.

"Remember Black!" Ron shouted at the stone gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's sanctuary. It jumped aside at the sound of the password and allowed Ron to enter.

Ron climbed the stairs as fast as he could and was surprised to see Dumbledore at his desk.

"What is it, Mr. Weasley?" Dumbledore asked him, his eyes widening in alarm.

"Harry! He's gone!" Ron shouted. He didn't know why he was shouting. He couldn't seem to keep his voice down.

"Take a deep breath, Mr. Weasley. And explain to me what happened," Dumbledore said calmly.

"We-we were playing chess at about midnight. We finished the game and I said I was going up to bed. Harry said he would be along in a minute. It's all my fault I should have stayed with him," Ron mumbled. "I fell asleep and I woke up around two…about a half hour ago. It was strange…I never usually wake up in the middle of the night. I saw Harry's bed was empty and I went down to the common room. I figured he'd just fallen asleep there…but he wasn't there. He never really goes anywhere without me, but I thought maybe he went somewhere…but I looked inside his trunk and his invisibility cloak was still there. He wouldn't have left without that…not if he had a choice."

Dumbledore nodded and stood up. "Did he say anything to you about going anywhere…yesterday…the last few days or weeks?"

Ron shook his head. "No…and like I said…he never really goes anywhere without me and Hermione."

Dumbledore nodded. "Follow me."

Ron walked behind Dumbledore, amazed that the old man could be so calm when Ron was practically wetting himself with worry. There was no way Harry would just wander off without telling anyone. Either someone lured him out of the common room or they had taken him by force.

Ron followed Dumbledore to the Gryffindor common room. Dumbledore said the password and walked through the portrait hole.

"Go wake, Miss Granger," Dumbledore told him. "Explain to her what has happened and tell her that her assistance is needed."

Ron looked at the staircase to the girls' dormitories and sighed. He remembered all too well what had happened the last time he had tried to go up there. He put a tentative foot on the first step and then heard a small chuckle behind him.

"I see you know what happens when a young man attempts to go up there. I will not ask how you know this. But don't worry, the staircase will stay as it is if a teacher or the headmaster is present in the room," Dumbledore said.

Ron ran up the stairs as fast as he could, ignoring Dumbledore's implications. He found the room designated for the sixth years and walked in. He saw Hermione sleeping in the bed nearest to the door. Her hair was a mess of brown tangles and one arm hung off the side of the bed. Ron would have smiled if the circumstances had not been so dire.

"Hermione, wake up," he whispered in her ear. She groaned and rolled over. "Wake up," he said a bit louder.

This time she responded by opening her eyes. "Ron, what are you doing up here? What's wrong?"

"It's Harry," Ron told her. "He's missing. Get dressed and come downstairs."

Hermione nodded and rose from the bed. Ron walked out of the room and waited in the hall. When she came out of the room, she began firing questions at Ron as fast as she could.

"What happened? When did you see him last? Did he tell you where he was going? Did you get Dumbledore? Do you have any idea where he could be?" Hermione questioned.

Ron told her everything he had told Dumbledore. They went downstairs and saw Dumbledore waiting for them.

"Miss Granger, has Mr. Weasley told you everything?" He asked her.

Hermione nodded.

"Is there anything you can tell us? Did Harry say anything about going anywhere?" Dumbledore inquired.

Hermione shrugged. "There's nothing I can think of. I don't think he would have snuck away and not told Ron and me."

Dumbledore nodded. "Then we must assume that someone took Harry from this castle or lured him away from it. We should check the castle grounds."

"Wait, headmaster," Ron said. "Do you know about the Marauders' Map?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Yes, Professor Lupin told me all about it."

"I used it to look for Harry when I saw he was gone. There was no one on the grounds. Would you like me to get it now?"

"Please."

Ron raced up the steps to the boys' dormitories and retrieved the map from Harry's trunk. He opened it up and saw that the grounds were clear. He sighed and went back down to the common room.

"Harry's still not on there," Ron told him as he handed the ragged piece of parchment to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore took the map and glanced at it. "Very well. We should still check the grounds for any sign of…..of…foul play," Dumbledore said. And for the first time that evening, his voice shook.

Ron and Hermione followed Dumbledore out of the castle. Ron had his arm around Hermione's waist. She had been struggling with tears ever since Ron had told her what had happened.

When they exited the castle, Ron looked around hopefully, thinking that perhaps Harry had just fancied a nighttime stroll and the map had just malfunctioned. But the Marauders' Map never lied.

Harry was nowhere to be seen.

Ron felt like he might just collapse from frustration. Harry had just goddamn disappeared. There was no trace of him anywhere.

Ron shivered in the cold air. He hadn't thought to bring his cloak. He kicked an innocent patch of snow and cursed under his breath. And then something occurred to him.

"The snow!" Ron shouted. "We have to see…have to look…if Harry was out here…there must be footprints somewhere."

He dashed off with Hermione at his heels, determined to find some clue that would reveal where Harry had gone.

"Don't get your hopes up, Ron," Hermione told him. "Whoever did this might have covered their tracks."

And it seemed they had.

The pair wandered around the grounds for what seemed like a long time and didn't find a single thing that would indicate that Harry had been out there. Dumbledore was walking around with his wand out, and seemed to be muttering spells as he went.

"Ron! Over here!" Hermione's voice was filled with excitement.

Ron jogged to where she was standing by the Whomping Willow and looked to where she was pointing. Right beside the tall tree, it looked as if something had been laying there.

"So he was here," Ron said. "But then, where did he go?"

Hermione didn't say anything for a minute. "Do you think there's any chance he's still alive?"

"He has to be," Ron whispered. "He's The-Boy-Who-Lived."

Harry's head _bloody _hurt.

He sat up and immediately regretted it. His whole body ached.

"It's about time," someone said, nearly giving Harry a heart attack.

It was Draco Malfoy.

But it was not the slick, groomed, handsome Malfoy that Harry knew. This Malfoy was dirty, his hair was not combed away from his face, his robes were filthy, his face was bruised, and his part was not straight.

"Am I hallucinating?" Harry said to no one in particular.

Malfoy let out a harsh bark of laughter. "If you are, then so am I."

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked him. "Where is here?"

"We are currently in one of the cells in Malfoy Manor. My father is no longer very proud of his _gay _son."

It took Harry a moment for this information to register. "He knows?!"

"Relax," Malfoy told him. "He only knows I've been going around with someone of the male variety. He doesn't know that it's you."

"How-"

"Pansy."

"Oh."

"Yes. It seems she kept quite the close watch on me," Malfoy said.

Harry said nothing. Truth be told, he wasn't very much in the mood for Draco Malfoy at the moment. Draco Malfoy hadn't wanted his company before and Harry sure as hell wasn't going to entertain him just because they happened to be the only two people in this cell.

However, he did have one more question. "Why am I not dead yet?"

Malfoy shrugged. "We don't keep the Dark Lord in our basement, contrary to popular belief. He wants to kill you himself and it takes time to get here. There might be a bigger plan to it."

Harry said nothing. He had about a million more questions, but he was not interested in talking to Malfoy about anything that was not of the utmost importance. Instead, he concentrated his efforts on his current situation.

It was strange to him that Lucius Malfoy had put him and Draco in the same cell. Surely, this place had more than one dungeon? But then it occurred to Harry that Lucius knew his son hated Harry and probably knew the opposite was true.

He was _punishing _them.

Great. Harry wouldn't have minded a bit of cell time with Draco a couple of months ago, but now…it angered him. He would have given anything to be able to have his own cell, to at least die without that damn ferret face ruining his last days.

_Score one point for Lucius Malfoy, _Harry thought.

He heard something slide into the cell and saw two trays enter through a small compartment that opened at the door of the cell. There was a piece of bread, a hunk of cheese, and a glass of water on each.

_At least, I'm use to these meals, _Harry thought, thinking that these were the same sort of meals that his aunt and uncle usually fed him. He grabbed a tray and ate quickly, hoping to alleviate his rumbling stomach.

"So how are we going to get out of here?" Draco said suddenly, interrupting Harry's quiet meal.

"What do you mean _we_?" Harry asked, his voice filled with venom. Malfoy had ignored him for two months and now he wanted Harry to be his ticket to freedom?

_That_ was going to happen.

Malfoy seemed taken aback by his nastiness for a moment, but he recovered quickly. "We're in this together, Potter, whether you like it or not."

Harry ignored him and got to his feet, determined to find someway to escape. He doubted he could throw himself through the stone walls. Even the door was made of stone. Harry thought idly of his wand, and wondered who had it now.

He ran his hands along the stones. He didn't know what he was expecting…did he think that after he pressed the secret stone the wall would open up and reveal a yellow-bricked road to Hogwarts?

He sat down after a bit, feeling defeated.

"No way out yet?" Malfoy taunted.

Harry ignored him and lay down. He wished Voldemort would just kill him. He was getting tired of waiting and wondering and barely escaping…only to be in the same situation again.

He rolled onto his stomach. The dirt floor was very uncomfortable and Harry wasn't feeling very tired. He started to draw a picture in the dirt.

"What are you doing?" Malfoy asked.

Harry ignored him again.

"You can't ignore me forever, you know," Malfoy told him. "Who knows how long we will be here."

"And you can't just come crawling back to me because your family doesn't want you anymore," Harry said.

"Hey, you're talking again!"

Harry said nothing.

"We're both probably going to die here. Might as well use our voices for our last days," Malfoy muttered.

"Come on!" Malfoy shouted. "Talk!"

Harry continued to sketch in the dirt, pretending not to know that Draco Malfoy existed.

"Think you can ignore me?" This time the voice came from right beside him. Harry turned to see Draco Malfoy lying right beside him. Draco pushed Harry on his back and forced himself on top of him.

Harry worked to calm his breathing as Malfoy thrust his hips into Harry's. Harry's breath caught in his throat as he felt Draco's erection press into him. Harry felt his face grow hot…Malfoy still had _that _effect on him.

But then Harry thought back to Draco Malfoy's rejection. He would not go through that again.

"Get off of me _now_," Harry stated calmly.

Instead of complying with Harry's request, Draco let his full weight drop down on Harry and kissed him roughly. For a moment Harry felt himself going along with it. He moved his lips against Draco and relished the feeling it gave him. But then he came back to his senses and attempted to get up.

Draco pushed him roughly down and pinned his arms to his sides. It wasn't that hard for the taller boy to control Harry. Harry tried to kick his legs, but Draco's weight was enough to make even that, difficult.

Draco bit the flesh on Harry's neck hard enough to make him cry out. He struggled harder than ever, but Malfoy was able to keep him under control. Draco put his hand between Harry's legs, freeing one of Harry's arms.

Harry hesitated as he felt pressure on his erection, but then shoved Draco off of him in one quick motion and stood up.

"Stay the hell away from me," Harry said.

And he meant it.

AN: Please review!


	13. Cell Mates

AN: Thanks to those who reviewed!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

**Chapter 13**: Cell Mates

It was a week later and Draco was boring of Potter's company. On normal circumstances, he thought that the other boy would be a fine companion to be trapped in a cell with. But it seemed that he was too damn busy holding a grudge to hold any entertaining conversations.

Draco sighed loudly.

Potter did not even look at him.

Draco couldn't deny that Potter had a point. After all, Draco had chosen a life of power over a life of nobility and this included doing away with any affections for Potter. So it wasn't that Draco thought Potter was wrong.

He just hadn't known Scarhead could be that damn stubborn.

Draco hadn't been too pessimistic when his advances had not succeeded that first day. But day after day, he kept trying to make conversation, just _talk_, and Potter would have none of it. It was so irritating to be ignored. Draco could barely stand it. Did Potter think he was going to get an apology?

Draco laughed coldly to himself. He would sit silently in this cell for years before _that _happened.

Potter had looked over curiously when Draco laughed and for the first time in a week, their eyes met.

Draco smirked. He had tried conversing with Potter many times, but he had never tried saying what he was best at.

"So, what do you think the Weasel and the Mudblood are up to now?" Draco asked casually. "That big oaf is probably hoping you will die. I hear you have a small fortune in Gringott's."

Potter said nothing, but he was glaring at Draco.

It was a start.

"I can just see all of the paupers, hoping for word from Dumbledore that you're dead so they can clean out your vault," Draco said nonchalantly.

"Shut it, _Malfoy_."

Draco almost laughed with relief. Why hadn't he thought of this before?

"The Mudblood is probably siding with the Weasels on this one Potter. After all, she's going to be married into the family," he said.

"I'm warning you Malfoy. Shut it or you'll wish you had."

"I'm sure they're all hoping your dead…just so you don't kill anyone else…like you did to your dear godfather."

Potter let out a yell that was more like a growl. Draco hadn't really expected Potter to go after him, but he told himself not to doubt the smaller boy next time as he tackled him to the ground and punched him hard in the face.

Draco lay on the ground with Potter on top of him and even though his nose was bleeding, he wanted to laugh. Even _this _was better than silence.

Potter had stopped trying to beat him up and was merely keeping him pinned down. His was breathing in long slow breaths and Draco thought he might be close to the edge.

It seemed his godfather was the soft spot.

And Draco remembered, like a moment from a dream, not too long ago when he had taunted Potter about his godfather. And the sequence of events that followed that led them to the point where they almost cared about each other.

It was absurd.

One minute he was insulting Potter and the next they had been snogging. It had been so insane, and yet it had felt so right. Draco couldn't even pinpoint the exact moment when he had stopped thinking of Potter as the enemy.

It might have been that first night…perhaps it was during a later meeting…or maybe he hadn't even realized his feelings until he had tried to shut them off.

Draco forced himself back to the present.

Potter was still on top of him. And then, amazingly, he spoke.

"What are you going to do if we get out of here alive?"

Draco had thought about that. He had thought about everything the last seven days. There hadn't been much else to do.

"I thought I would go with you. Even if were not…you know…well I still have no place to go and Dumbledore will help me out. He trusts anyone," Draco said.

"Would he be wrong to trust you?" Potter asked.

Draco shook his head, which was hard to do since he was still lying on the floor. "No, he could trust me. What is there for me to gain by betraying him? My father hates me. If I go with you, the Dark Lord and his gang will hate me too. And if I show up and tell him I was actually on the Dark side all the time….well the Dark Lord is no fool. He would kill me."

For a second, Draco thought he saw a flicker of a smile appear on Potter's face. But as fast as it had come, it had gone, and a second later he was wearing the same somber expression he always wore when speaking of such things.

"Typical Slytherin."

Draco smiled. "What else could I be?"

"Let me ask you something else," Potter said. "Did you ever regret the decision you made that night?"

There was no need to ask Potter to clarify. Draco knew exactly of what decision he spoke of. Draco did not prepare his answer or adjust it to what Potter wanted to hear. For once, he decided to speak candidly.

"Yes. I regretted it. I thought of you…all the time. I couldn't get you out of my head. I didn't realize I even cared at all until you were taken away. And when I was sitting in this cell…before you came…I thought how ironic it was that if I lived, I was going to have to give up everything and anyone anyway…and I wished I had just done it for you."

It wasn't until he was done talking that Draco realized he had just given Potter what he wanted.

It had been the closest thing to an apology Draco Malfoy had ever said.

But it was worth it, because at that moment, Potter kissed him. It was passionate and forceful and Draco thought he might die of happiness at that moment.

He kissed Potter hard and pushed his tongue into the other boy's mouth. It was wonderful being back in that familiar territory after being forced out of it for so long.

Draco was eager to see Potter's body, to feel it, to touch everything, everything he

had denied himself.

He pulled Potter's shirt off and then his own. Draco ran his hands along Potter's back, over his chest, down to his navel, wondering over and over what he had been thinking when he had given this up.

Potter pressed down on him and Draco moaned loudly as he felt the other boy's erection against his own. The friction was almost unbearable. Potter was doing everything roughly, quickly, almost painfully, as if making up for lost time.

He bit Draco's bottom lip, causing him to cry out in pain. But Draco realized he deserved it. He was glad Potter was making it hurt.

Potter nipped at his neck and nibbled on the sensitive flesh below his ear. Draco struggled not to yell as Potter grinded his hips into Draco's…making him flinch with pain and moan with pleasure all at once. Draco closed his eyes and relished the sensation.

All of a sudden Draco felt himself relieved of the pressure of Potter. He opened his eyes and looked up to see the other boy kicking off his shoes and removing his trousers. After his own were off, Potter went to work on Draco. He grabbed Draco's shoes and pulled his pants down quickly.

Potter positioned himself on Draco once again and kissed him fiercely on the lips. Their tongues danced together and Draco savored the feeling of Potter's warm breath mingling with his.

Potter began thrusting his hips against Draco's and Draco gasped as Potter's arousal met his own. Draco couldn't take it anymore.

He pushed Potter's head down with hand, but Potter resisted.

Potter stopped kissing him, and looked down at him. He licked his lips. His face was glistening with sweat and he seemed to be catching his breath.

Draco tried again to push Potter down, but Potter would not go. Draco looked at him with frustration….Potter was waiting for something, but what?

"What do you want me to do?" Draco asked. The question came out as a gasp.

"If you want this that bad, then ask me."

Draco felt himself getting angry. Malfoys didn't _beg. _On the other hand, the thing throbbing between his legs wasn't going away.

"Please," he moaned. "Please…"

Potter smiled, but Draco didn't have time to roll his eyes. For the third time, he pushed Potter's head downward and this time, Potter complied.

Potter tugged Draco's boxers down. Draco groaned when he felt Potter's mouth on his erection. He dug his fingernails into his palms and struggled not to shout as Potter worked on him. Draco watched the other boy's head bobbing up and down and yelled as Potter continued to suck his cock.

Potter spit out the liquid when he was finished and stood up. He grabbed Draco's head roughly and forced the other boy's mouth in between his legs. Draco was happy to please him.

He pulled down Potter's boxers and licked the tip of the boy's arousal. Potter groaned. The sound only fueled Draco's desire to make him happy. He took Potter's erection into his mouth and began to pleasure him. Every time Potter moaned, Draco went faster and faster until finally Potter gave a yell and Draco felt his mouth fill up with liquid. He swallowed the stuff in one gulp.

Both boys struggled to catch their breath. Potter pulled his boxers back up and sat next to Draco.

"I kind of missed that," Potter said casually.

Draco looked at the other boy for a moment and burst out laughing.

AN: Please review!


	14. Rescue

AN: Sorry this has taken forever. I had some serious real life problems and a family crisis. But the show must go on. Thanks for the reviews guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

**Chapter 14**: Rescue

Hermione felt something on her foot.

"Ouch! Ron! Would you be careful?"

"Sorry," he whispered. "It's not exactly easy for two people to travel under this thing."

Hermione sighed. She was on edge. It had been two days since Harry had gone missing and still they had heard nothing. At least they _had_ heard nothing until they had heard Snape whispering to McGonagall that there was a meeting with Dumbledore that night. It had to be about Harry.

So now they were making their way to Dumbledore's office under Harry's Invisibility Cloak hoping to get some information about where their friend had disappeared to.

As they reached Dumbledore's office, they saw Professor McGonagall giving the password. They hurried to follow her. Snape was already speaking to Dumbledore in a low voice.

"Minerva," Dumbledore began, "Severus has some new information that you will need to carry to the rest of the Order."

Ron and Hermione stood in a corner of the office and listened as the teachers spoke.

"It has come to my attention," Snape said, "that there will be a special meeting of Death Eaters tomorrow at Malfoy Manor. I believe the Dark Lord will also be there."

"So that's where they are keeping Potter?" McGonagall asked. She seemed as relieved as Ron and Hermione to finally be hearing something.

"So I assume," Snape said. "I'm not sure how they were able to get a hold of him. But it seems he is being held there. He probably would have been dead already if the Dark Lord had not been in Albania gathering the werewolves for his Dark army."

McGonagall looked apprehensive. "Are we positive that he's not dead?"

Dumbledore said, "I think we can assume that this is a task Lord Voldemort wishes to perform himself. We need to get Harry out of there as soon as possible. Inform the Order that we will go tomorrow. See who volunteers for this operation. We need as many Aurors as possible."

"Albus," Professor McGonagall said looking stricken, "Surely you don't plan on going on this mission yourself. What if something happens?"

"I cannot ask others to do something I'm not willing to do myself," Dumbledore said calmly. "I have failed Harry once before. I will not fail him again."

"I must return to the dungeons," Snape said. "I have Veritaserum brewing."

McGonagall got up to leave as well promising Dumbledore that she would visit Headquarters immediately. Ron and Hermione silently followed the two professors out of the room. Hermione had the strangest feeling that Dumbledore was watching them leave.

As soon as they were free from the presence of Snape and McGonagall, Ron spoke. "Hermione, we have to go tonight. We have to go to Malfoy Manor."

"But Ron," Hermione whispered. "The Order is going tomorrow. They'll find him. They'll get him out of there."

"How do you know?" Ron asked. "It's stupid that they're waiting. V-Voldemort might be there by then. What if Voldemort arrives early? What if Lucius Malfoy decides not to wait? Harry could be in trouble now."

Hermione bit her lip. Ron might be right. Harry could need them. "How are we even going to find where Malfoy Manor is?"

"Miss Hermione Granger, the most intelligent witch of her age, can't figure this one out?" Ron teased. "We don't need it."

"Oh," Hermione muttered, catching on. "I forgot about the Thestrals."

She hesitated for a second and then spoke again. "You're right. Harry might need us now."

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Harry wondered idly what Lucius Malfoy would say if he came in here at this very moment and saw the two boys lying next to each other in their boxers. He almost laughed at the mental image.

But then he remembered that he would probably be dying soon and the snicker died in his throat.

"Do you think anyone even knows where you are?" Draco asked.

Harry thought for a moment. It had been two days since his disappearance. "I don't know. I suppose it's possible. Dumbledore has his sources, of course, but I'm not sure. Ron and Hermione must be killing themselves trying to find me," he added as an afterthought.

He knew Draco was probably rolling his eyes beside him.

Harry shivered and reached for his trousers. He pulled them on, but Draco remained unclothed. Harry lay back down and sighed. Things were certainly uneventful in jail cells.

He felt Draco's hand on his chest and sighed again, this time contentedly. At least something good had happened before his imminent death. Harry closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation of the other boy's fingertips sliding up and down his body.

And Harry let a vision play in his mind. He imagined that they somehow got out of this mess and Draco came to Grimmauld Place with him during the summer. It was a pleasant dream, if an impossible one.

Suddenly Harry heard a loud bang and opened his eyes to see the door of the cell being thrown open. He saw only someone being thrown in quickly before the door was shut with yet another loud bang. He looked at the person now lying at his feet and gasped.

It was Hermione.

"Hermione?" Harry asked. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Granger?" Draco asked as well as he tried to put on his clothes as fast as possible. But Hermione wasn't paying attention to him.

"Oh, Harry! I'm glad you're okay." She hugged him quickly. "But oh, damn! Ron…Ron is…oh…they don't know he's here. He'll be okay. He has to get here…"

"Hermione, slow down. I don't understand. What's going on? How did you get here?" Harry asked her.

She took a deep breath and started speaking rapidly again. "Well we didn't know anything until tonight. We tried to find out what was going on before, but it was impossible. There was not one clue that led us to what had happened. But then, well we listened to a meeting of some Order members and found out that there's a Death Eater's gathering set for tomorrow. The Order was supposed to come bust you out of here tomorrow, but Ron and I couldn't wait. We thought you might need us. Oh, Harry! Voldemort is supposed to be coming here soon."

Harry tried to take all of this in. "Well what happened when you got here?"

"We took the Thestrals to get here. And we figured there would be all kinds of wards up around this house. I took some charms off a second story window and we were able to climb through. When we got in, we decided to split up. Oh, it was kind of stupid, but this way we wouldn't both get caught…and we'd have a better chance of finding you. I stumbled into a room with an alarm, I suppose…because I soon as I went through the doorway, a bunch of people attacked me."

"The drawing room," Draco commented. "We have our secret trapdoor under there so Father put a charm on the doorway to alert if anyone not of Malfoy blood or one of our servants entered the room."

Hermione looked at Draco for the first time since she entered the room. She smirked and gave Harry a knowing glance. Harry realized he still had his shirt off. He felt his face turn scarlet despite the circumstances.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" She asked. She tried to keep the venom out of voice, but Harry sensed a hint of it.

Draco stuck his chin into the air. "My father no longer wants anything to do with me Granger, now that he has discovered I'm gay."

Hermione decided not to ask any further questions on the subject. "I wonder why they put me in here with you two? Why not put me somewhere separate so we couldn't plot?"

"Convenience," Draco said. "There are charms and wards to take down before you can access any dungeon. It would be easy for them to take down these ones since they've already done it a bunch of times in the last few days. Also, does it really matter? We can't get out and we're all going to die anyway."

"There's still Ron," Hermione said confidently.

Draco snorted. "Sorry if I'm not exactly optimistic that Weasley can outsmart a bunch of Death Eaters and save our lives."

"Well right now he's the only hope you have, so I suggest you hang onto it," Hermione said icily. She glared at Draco and he returned the cold look.

Harry thought he probably should have said something to cool the tensions, but he was too preoccupied with the current situation to play peace-maker. His death before had seemed a certainty and he had almost come to terms with it. Now that Ron and Hermione were involved in this, they needed to get out. And suddenly the words of the prophecy echoed in his mind. He wasn't just the hope for the two people in this cell; he was the hope of the entire wizarding world. Unfortunately there was nothing he could do about it at the moment.

And so it seemed that the fate of the entire wizarding world for once lay with someone else.

"Good luck, Ron," Harry whispered to no one.

AN: Please review!


	15. Fleeing

AN: Alright, this has literally taken forever. I know it. And I apologize to you guys who have been waiting for months. If I have any readers left, thanks for sticking around. RL hasn't been friendly to me for awhile. But hey, I graduate tomorrow which means more frequent updates!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

**Chapter 15: **Fleeing

Ron was frustrated. He had been wandering around in this damn mansion for fifteen minutes and still had seen no sign of Harry. Worse, he hadn't come in contact with Hermione either. He hoped she was safe.

Voices.

Ron stopped. He crept as quietly as he could towards the noise.

"The Dark Lord should be here tomorrow," someone said and Ron recognized the voice as Peter Pettigrew.

"I'm well aware of when our Master will be arriving in my own home," Lucius Malfoy said icily.

"But Dumbledore?" Pettigrew muttered. "How do you know he's coming?"

"Trust me," Malfoy said and Ron stepped back from the door as he heard the voice coming closer. "Potter missing, what else could possibly be occupying Dumbledore's attention? The Dark Lord will have his wishes – the elimination of both of his enemies in one night."

Ron ducked into another room of the house just before Lucius Malfoy entered the hallway.

So that was the plan. Get rid of Harry and Dumbledore. Ron thought of going back and warning the Order, but one thought of his friends pushed that thought away from his mind.

Ron listened to Malfoy's footsteps die away.

"Always makes me do the dirty work," Ron heard Wormtail muttered.

Ron peeked out of the room and saw Wormtail with trays of food and glasses of water.

"Harry," Ron whispered.

Pettigrew started down a long staircase and Ron did his best to follow him while keeping hidden. Wormtail seemed oblivious to his surroundings and kept up his constant stream of muttering.

"…feed the prisoners while he sweeps off thinking he's so important…"

Ron followed him down two more staircases to a long hallway full of what Ron assumed were holding cells. Pettigrew took down the wards on the cells as they went but didn't bother to put them back up behind him. For his stupidity, Ron was grateful.

Pettigrew stopped. Ron made sure to stay back at least twenty feet as he watched Wormtail.

"_Trapio_," Pettigrew muttered.

Ron watched him slide the food and water into a cell through a small panel. Wormtail turned around to head back the way he had came. Ron hid behind a pillar and hoped Wormtail wasn't very observant.

Lucky for Ron, he wasn't.

Pettigrew put the enchantments haphazardly back up as he went. But Ron was close enough to the cell that he no longer had any obstacles to overcome. After Wormtail's mutterings of spells had died away, Ron went up to the cell.

Ron had to marvel at the brilliance of the way the whole place was set up. The "cells" merely looked like continuations of the stone wall. If Ron hadn't just watched Wormtail go up to the place and push food through he wouldn't even have known the cell was there.

Ron put his wand up to the brick he thought he had seen Wormtail tap and said, "_Trapio_."

Nothing happened.

He tried the one on the left. Nothing. The one on the right?

The brick he had touched as well as the ones above it and below it disappeared to reveal a space into the cell.

"Who's in there?" Ron shouted into the hole.

"Ron?"

"Who else would it be?"

"Oh thank Merlin!" It was Hermione's voice. "Harry's here too!"

"Hey mate," Ron heard Harry say. "What took you so long?"

Ron smiled despite the situation. "Stuff it Potter."

"I don't know if I should try spells on this wall," Ron told them. "I'm sure it's protected or it might have an alarm on it."

"Pass your wand through Weasley."

"Who the hell is that?" Ron asked though he already knew the answer.

"It's – It's Malfoy," Harry said.

"As fun as this is, maybe you should pass your wand through to us Weasley. The walls aren't protected from spells cast on the inside. I'm sure it's only a matter of minutes before you get discovered down here," the cold voice said. Ron _hated_ that voice.

"Harry take my wand and freeze up the old ferret so he doesn't follow us," Ron said.

There was silence on the other side.

"Harry?"

"Yeah – um actually Malfoy was put in here by his father too so he's kind of on our side now."

Ron snorted. "Do you honestly believe that? Come on Harry, I'm going to give you my wand. You don't have to kill him. Just incapacitate him."

"Ron, listen to Harry," Hermione said. "Malfoy was kept prisoner here too. He's just as keen to get out of he-"

"What the hell is wrong with you two? Did they put some spell on you? It's _Malfoy_ we're talking about –"

"You know I can hear you, right Weasley?"

Ron kicked the wall hard which accomplished nothing except making his toe throb. He thrust his wand through the opening. "Here Harry," he said. "I don't know what you're talking about, but I trust you."

"Alright Ron stand back," Harry said. "_REDUCTO_!"

The wall smashed into pieces. Harry, Hermione, and finally Malfoy emerged. Harry handed Ron his wand back.

"Good to see you again mate," Ron said. Harry grinned. Hermione threw herself at Ron.

"I thought I would never see you again!" She kissed him quickly.

"Hey, it's alright," Ron said. "Let's find a way to get the hell out of here."

Suddenly they heard footsteps behind them. They turned to see Wormtail, Crabbe, and Goyle running towards them.

"They must have heard us!" Hermione shouted. "Come on!"

They ran down the hall as fast as they could. The only problem was the three people chasing them were armed and Ron was the only one who had a wand.

"_Impedimenta_!" Ron shouted and aimed his wand behind him. Crabbe slowed. There were only two of them left. Ron looked behind him again. Wormtail was talking into his wand. No doubt he was warning Malfoy that the prisoners had escaped.

"_Stupefy_!" Ron yelled at the same time Goyle did. The shots of red light met in the air and ricocheted down the hall. "Damn!"

Ron continued running. The rest of the group was up ahead of him. They were making their way up a set of steps. Ron sped up and ran up the stairs a few minutes after he had watched Harry go up them.

The stairs led to a room.

The room was filled with over a dozen Death Eaters. "_Stupefy_!" Ron yelled. One of them dropped. His friends were already on the ground knocked out. Ron was pretty sure the only reason he wasn't on the floor with them was because he had surprised them.

Suddenly Ron felt something hit his back. His limbs went numb and as he dropped to his knees everything went black.

AN: Please review!


	16. Lord Voldemort

**AN: **No comment on how long this has taken. Readers would do well to remember that this story was started before the publication of Half-Blood Prince, and therefore, is firmly in the realm of alternate universe. However, that doesn't mean that I won't take advantage of certain things used in the wonderful 6th book. A few more chapters to come on this before it's finished. I'm giving no timeline for when that will happen.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

**Chapter 16:** Lord Voldemort

Harry opened his eyes.

He tried to move his arms and found he couldn't. He was magically bound to a chair. His friends were in the same condition around him. Draco, too. All were in the process of coming to consciousness.

Harry's only thought was to wonder why he wasn't dead yet.

Pettigrew was in the room, no doubt making sure they didn't manage to somehow escape. Harry heard others outside of the door of whatever room they were in.

Ron was across from Harry in his own chair. He was just waking up. Harry caught his eye. He tried to whisper as low as he could.

"What's going on?"

Ron quickly looked toward Pettigrew. But the little man was sitting in a chair, muttering to himself.

"They want Dumbledore too. You're bait, mate."

Of course. Voldemort was going to rid himself of all of his enemies at once.

"He's not coming until tomorrow. At least that's what Hermione and I overheard him say," Ron said quietly.

And Voldemort was coming tonight. Great.

Harry tried to look for some way out of his current situation, but his imagination and any spare intelligence was failing him. They were trapped and helpless. He cursed himself for getting his hopes up earlier. What a fool he was to think he could get out of here alive.

Suddenly, the door to the room creaked open. Harry shuddered involuntarily. A long, lean shadow was cast over him and his friends.

"Harry Potter. We meet again." The voice was high and cold and Harry recognized it, not only from previous encounters, but also from countless dreams. "And friends of Harry Potter. Welcome. Welcome."

"And Draco Malfoy. An interesting turn of events, I must say," Lord Voldemort walked over to him. Draco scowled, but his fear was evident. The Death Eaters came in now, stationing themselves along the outside of the room. Their excitement was palpable.

"Draco Malfoy, you are quite the enigma. Offered everything, and yet you side with no one. The coward's way. _Crucio_!"

There was a loud bang as Draco, still attached to his chair, fell to the floor. His body writhed while still in its restraints. Harry closed his eyes. He couldn't watch. But his lack of vision did nothing to shut out the screams.

There were a few satisfied laughs from the Death Eaters around the room as Voldemort lifted the curse and Draco was returned to his previous position, panting heavily. No doubt many of them were happy to see the smug son of Lucius Malfoy get his own.

Voldemort strode around the room slowly, his wand loosely hanging from his fingertips. He had a casual air about him, as if this was something he did every day. Which, Harry thought, he probably did.

"And you two," he came closer to Ron and Hermione whose chairs were next to each other. Ron had maneuvered himself so his chair was slightly in front of Hermione's.

"How many times have you helped Harry Potter thwart me?" He laughed. "But no matter. You can only delay Lord Voldemort. You cannot stop him."

Ron struggled to move his chair to block Hermione from view.

"Now this is admirable. Protecting the woman you love? Harry's father tried to do the same. I regret to say it didn't work out too well for either of them. But I did give his father the pleasure of dying first."

He twirled his wand in his hand.

"_Crucio!_"

Ron fell to the ground in the same manner as Draco. Harry imagined the pain he must be feeling. He remembered all to well. White, hot, stabbing pain. Ron roared as his body twitched and struggled. Hermione had silent tears rolling down her cheeks.

Voldemort returned his chair back to a sitting position.

"Still want to protect her?" He said mockingly.

Ron glared, but said nothing as he wriggled his chair to block Hermione once more.

Voldemort laughed again. "Admirable, as I said. Very well. You all have to go. I will do you the honor of going first."

The Death Eaters formed a tighter circle now as they moved in to watch the destruction. Harry only had despair in him. He would watch his friends die before being killed himself. They had come to save him, and now they would suffer because of it.

Voldemort raised his wand.

"I want to die first," It was a simple statement. Harry's mouth had been open to say something similarly distracting when Draco spoke first.

Voldemort turned around. The Death Eaters moved in closer still. They liked this change of events. Harry supposed they might be just as eager to see Draco die as him.

Voldemort walked towards Draco. He held out his wand. "The son of Lucius Malfoy thinks he can get anything he wants. Trust me, Draco. You will beg for death before I am done with you."

He turned back towards Ron now and raised his wand. He closed his eyes to relish the moment.

BANG!

The door to the room burst open.

Voldemort whipped around. Harry felt a surge of hope in him. The Order of the Phoenix, led by Dumbledore, were making their way into the room. There was a moment of shock on both sides before curses and spells were being thrown across the room.

Harry forced his chair to the ground and saw the others doing the same. Suddenly, his restraints were gone. Harry didn't know what member of the Order had done it, but he was free.

Still, he had no wand.

"HARRY! GET TO SAFETY!" It was Dumbledore's voice. And while Harry wished to fight with them, he had to admit, it wasn't the smartest move to fight wandless.

But he would certainly not leave without his friends.

The room was so full of dueling wizards that it was hard to find anyone in the room.

"Harry! Harry!" Harry raised his head slightly from the crawling position he had been in. It was Hermione. He made his way over to her.

"Where's Ron and…Malfoy?" He asked her.

"I don't know!" She said anxiously. "I lost sight of them when the battle began. "But here."

She handed him his wand.

"Hey, thanks! Where did you get it?"

She pointed to a lump next to her. "Someone knocked out Pettigrew. They were on him."

With no intention of leaving without Ron or Draco, Harry rose to his feet, now ready to contribute to the battle.

He saw Tonks battling two Death Eaters. He stunned one in the back as she took out the other.

Harry came face-to-face with another Death Eater. They circled each other for a second before making their moves.

"_Crucio_!" The Death Eater shouted.

Harry ducked the curse, at the same time yelling, "Stupefy!" The Death Eater side-stepped the spell.

They stared at each other for another moment, waiting to see who would move next.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry disarmed the Death Eater, and a Stunner came and hit the man in the back. He fell to his knees. Ron was behind him.

"Thanks, mate."

Ron nodded. Hermione was by his side. The three of them ducked and crawled away from the battle.

"Come on Harry," Ron said. "We have to get out of here. It's getting too dangerous for us."

Harry surveyed the room. Pairs were dueling all over. He saw Dumbledore and Voldemort calmly staring at each other on one side of the room.

"I can't go without him," Harry said in a low voice.

"Who? Malfoy?" Ron asked incredulously. "Look, I don't know what's going on with you and him…but he's still Malfoy. He probably already left to save his own skin."

"He tried to help you, didn't he?" Harry shot back angrily.

Ron hesitated for a moment. He seemed to be searching for a retort. Finally, he said. "Yeah…yeah he did."

"Harry there!" Hermione pointed across the room. Harry saw a flash of silver-white blonde hair. Without regard to his own safety, he made his way towards it.

Malfoy was cornered by three Death Eaters. He did not have his wand. No doubt he should have already been dead, but the Death Eaters were enjoying torturing him.

"_Incendio_!" One yelled. Draco's robes caught on fire. Harry could tell he struggled not to scream as the flames licked his body.

"_Aguamenti_!" Draco gasped. A jet of water shot out of his wand putting the flames to rest. The Death Eater's laughed at his efforts.

"_Stupefy_!" Harry shouted. One of the Death Eaters fell.

Harry caught Draco's eye for a second before the boy yelled "_Sectumsepra_!"

Harry winced as the Death Eater fell, clutching a large gash in his chest. Blood seeped out onto the floor. But there wasn't time to question Draco's morality in fighting. There was still another Death Eater.

"_Crucio_!" The Death Eater yelled. Draco fell to the floor, writhing and screaming once more.

"_Stupefy_!" Harry yelled. The Death Eater was knocked unconscious. Draco struggled to his feet. The last Cruciatus Curse had taken a lot out of him.

"Harry? What are you still doing here? GET OUT!" It was Lupin who shouted this time.

Suddenly an old can appeared in Harry's hands. He stared at it confused for a moment before he realized what it was. Harry tried to meet Dumbledore's eye, but he was locked in a trance with Lord Voldemort. He hoped he had a chance to thank the headmaster.

He wished that thought quickly away.

Harry and Draco crawled across the room. It wasn't that hard not to be spotted as most everyone was caught up in the fighting.

They made their way into the hallway outside the room. Ron and Hermione were waiting for them.

"Here!" Harry shouted, holding out the old can. "Dumbledore made us a Portkey. Hold on. I don't know when it leaves."

Ron and Hermione hurried to touch the can. Draco did as well. The four waited for about half a minute before Harry felt the familiar jerking sensation.

They toppled into Dumbledore's office, safe at last.


End file.
